MADRID.- The Super League and the UEFA They face each other again on Thursday in a court in Madrid, before which the promoters of that competition denounced the governing body of European football and FIFA for abuse of a dominant position almost three years ago.
The parties will defend their different positions on the project before judge Sofía Gil, who must decide whether UEFA, with its 2021 rules, abused its dominant position to prevent the creation of the Super League and put obstacles to free competition.
The head of the commercial court N.17 of Madrid must take into account in her decision the opinion issued by the European justice last December.
The European ruling was a response to questions posed by Judge Manuel Ruiz de Lara, Gil’s predecessor at the head of the court, and before whom the promoters of the Super League presented their complaint.
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled last December that the FIFA and UEFA rules “that make any project for a new club football competition, such as the Super League, subject to prior authorization and which prohibit clubs from players participating in it are illegal.
The CJEU, which rules on the FIFA and UEFA rules in force in 2021, at the time the procedure was launched, estimates that the powers of these two organizations have not been accompanied by “criteria that allow guaranteeing its transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate nature”, which is why it considers that “they are abusing their dominant position”.
The Court specified, however, that this does not mean that the Super League project “must necessarily be authorized”, stressing that it is ruling in a general way on the rules of FIFA and UEFA, and not on that “specific project.”
Following this decision, the general director of A22, the company promoting the Super League, Bernd Reichart, stated in a message on X that they had “won the right to compete. UEFA’s monopoly has ended. Football is free.”
They celebrate for the Super League:
The president of Real Madrid, Florentino Pérez, also celebrated that “European football is not and will never be a monopoly again.”
The merengue team, along with Barcelona, are the only ones that remain in the project of the twelve large European clubs that announced in April 2021 the creation of their own private competition, with enormous commercial potential, anticipating the announcement of the reform of the Champions League.
The strong opposition from sectors of fans and the great organized commotion, especially in England, soon led to nine clubs in the project publicly renouncing to continue in it. The ‘riot’ was quelled in less than 48 hours.
Source: AFP
