- Joined
- Apr 16, 2019
Looks like the European Super League is back on the menu boys: https://archive.is/67ihh
They've already released revised plans for the league: https://archive.is/MYewE
Banning clubs from joining a European Super League was unlawful and Uefa and Fifa are "abusing a dominant position", the European Court of Justice has said.
It comes after a case was brought by the ESL and its backers claiming Uefa and Fifa were breaking competition law by threatening to sanction those who joined the breakaway league.
The European Union's highest court found against the governing bodies.
It added that did not mean a breakaway league would "necessarily be approved".
An initial report released last December by the ECJ said the rules of football's European and world governing bodies were "compatible with EU competition law".
The verdict will be seen as a blow to the authority of Uefa and Fifa and how they govern the game.
Uefa said it was "confident in the robustness" of rules it has brought in since the ESL was first proposed, and that it would "comply with all relevant European laws and regulations".
It added it trusted football's existing set-up would be "safeguarded against the threat of breakaways by European and national laws".
Barcelona - one of the initial 12 clubs to agree to the ESL - said the verdict "paved the way for a new competition".
And ESL backers A22 then released revamped proposals, which this time include a women's European tournament.
The plan would feature a league system with 64 clubs across three leagues in the men's competition, and 32 clubs across two leagues in the women's competition. Both would involve promotion and relegation.
The ESL had initially been intended to be a midweek competition consisting of two groups of 10 teams, followed by a play-off phase.
Anger grew when details emerged that the 12 founding clubs would never have to forfeit their places in the league, locking out all but five other clubs across the whole of Europe in the process, once another three founding clubs had been confirmed.
Fans protested that the ESL would be detrimental to leagues across Europe and that greed was the driving factor for clubs joining, with no consideration for supporters.
The report said that when new competitions are "potentially entering the market" Fifa and Uefa must ensure their powers are "transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate".
The report added: "However, the powers of Fifa and Uefa are not subject to any such criteria. Fifa and Uefa are, therefore, abusing a dominant position.
"Moreover, given their arbitrary nature, their rules on approval, control and sanctions must be held to be unjustified restrictions on the freedom to provide services.
"That does not mean that a competition such as the Super League project must necessarily be approved. The Court does not rule on that specific project in its judgment."
Bernd Reichart, chief executive of A22, wrote on X - formerly Twitter - that the ESL "have won the right to exist".
He added: "Uefa's monopoly is over. Football is free. Clubs are now free from the threat of sanctions and free to determine their own future.
"For fans: we offer free broadcasting of all Superleague matches. For clubs: Income and solidarity expenses will be guaranteed."
The ESL saga began in April 2021 when news broke that 12 teams - including English teams Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham - had signed up to the breakaway competition.
There was widespread fury and condemnation from fans, other European leagues and even government, leading to the collapse of the plans within 72 hours.
The six Premier League clubs plus Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan and AC Milan were fined by Uefa, but action against Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus was halted during the legal process, although Juventus signalled their intention to quit the project in July.
The ESL has not been scrapped completely, however, with Real Madrid and Barcelona remaining interested in pursuing the venture.
Real welcomed the ruling, saying clubs will now be the "masters of their own destiny".
"It is a great day for the history of football and for the history of sports," a statement added.
Meanwhile, Spain's La Liga said European football had "spoken".
The statement said: "Today, more than ever, we reiterate that the "Super League" is a selfish and elitist model.
"Anything that is not fully open, with direct access only through the domestic leagues, season by season, is a closed format."
No-one expected this judgement to be so powerful
Analysis from Simon Stone, BBC Sport
This judgement is a massive blow to Uefa and Fifa and their authority to govern the game.
The wording of the ruling from the 15-strong Grand Chamber is damning.
It says their structures mean there is no way of checking whether their operations are 'transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate'.
It says the rules around commercial rights are anti-competitive.
This does not mean a European Super League is coming. For the English clubs in particular a lot of bad blood was created by the ill-fated launch of the project in 2021. Unpicking that, certainly in the short-term, will not be easy.
However, those who have pushed the project now know they can go away and speak to who they want, when they want, about a vision for European football that suits them, and Uefa and Fifa will have to work with them or risk losing their power.
No-one, including Uefa and Fifa, expected this judgement to be so powerful.
The ramifications will be felt for a long time to come.
They've already released revised plans for the league: https://archive.is/MYewE
Revamped plans for a controversial European Super League have been announced after a top court ruled that banning clubs from joining a breakaway league was unlawful.
The proposal is for a league system which would include 64 men's clubs and 32 women's clubs.
The plans for a new ESL format would rival current Uefa tournaments.
Following the announcement, Manchester United said in a statement they remain "fully committed" to Uefa competitions.
United were one of the founding clubs of the original ESL but backed out following widespread condemnation of the plans.
The club said their position has "not changed" and they remain dedicated to "positive cooperation with Uefa, the Premier League, and fellow clubs through the ECA [European Clubs Association] on the continued development of the European game."
A case was brought by the ESL and its backers claiming Uefa and Fifa were breaking competition law by threatening to sanction those who joined the breakaway league.
On Thursday the European Court of Justice found against the governing bodies but said that did not mean a breakaway league would "necessarily be approved".
But the ruling has opened the door for new proposals to be put forward and for clubs to look to organise and manage European football competitions.
Put forward by A22 - backers of the original ESL - the new proposal outlines an annual promotion and relegation system with no permanent members.
Fans would also be able to watch live matches for free on a new digital streaming platform.
No clubs or prize money have been announced but in a statement the ECA said: "To be absolutely clear, the judgment in no way whatsoever supports or endorses any form of Super League project.
"Football is a social contract not a legal contract - all the recognised stakeholders of European and world football - spanning confederations, federations, clubs, leagues, players and fans - stand more united than ever against the attempts by a few individuals pursing personal agendas to undermine the very foundations and basic principles of European football."
Following the ECJ's ruling, the Football Supporters Association said: "There is no place for an ill-conceived breakaway super league.
"Supporters, players and clubs have already made clear they don't want a stitched-up competition - we all want to see the trigger pulled on the walking dead monstrosity that is the European Zombie League.
"While the corpse might continue to twitch in the European courts, no English side will be joining.
"Success must be earned on the pitch, not stitched-up in boardrooms."
The ESL saga began in April 2021 when news broke that 12 teams - including English teams Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham - had signed up to the breakaway competition.
There was widespread fury and condemnation from fans, European domestic leagues and even government, leading to the collapse of the plans within 72 hours.
Revamped European Super League format - how would new competition work?
The proposal from A22 says the new competition would include the continent's top clubs in men's and women's football.
In the men's competition, the top tiers - the Star League and the Gold League - would each consist of 16 teams while the Blue League, the bottom tier, would consist of 32 clubs with promotion and relegation between each tier.
The teams that finish in the top eight of each league go into the knockout stages, with quarter-finals and semi-finals played over two legs and the finals held at neutral venues.
The bottom 20 teams in the Blue league would be relegated from the competition entirely and replaced by the top-performing clubs from European domestic leagues.
The two teams that make the final of the Gold and Blue leagues would be promoted up a tier, while the two teams that finish bottom of the Star and Gold leagues would be relegated down a tier.
Matches would be played in midweek, allowing the new competition to be run in tandem with European domestic leagues.
The proposed women's competition would be run on a similar model.
"Our position has not changed. We remain fully committed to participation in UEFA competitions, and to positive cooperation with UEFA, the Premier League, and fellow clubs through the ECA on the continued development of the European game."
Who would be interested in a breakaway league?
The collapse of the original ESL came when nine of the 12 clubs who signed up to the project stepped back in 2021 with Juventus also withdrawing their interest earlier this year.
Spanish clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona have stuck to the general principles of having a new European competition and after plans for a revamped ESL were announced Barca president Joan Laporta said "the time has come for clubs to have greater control over their destiny".
In a video posted on social media, he said: "With an improved European competition and more resources from the clubs, the national leagues will become more balanced and competitive.
"We believe that an historic opportunity is now open to try to show some of the serious problems that currently jeopardise the future viability of the vast majority of clubs.
"Barcelona will try to promote methods to improve current European competitions in an open and fully meritocratic format, making football more sustainable for the club, much more supportive of amateur football, more attractive and affordable for fans around the world. This proposal aims to improve football as a whole."
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez also declared it a "great day for the history of football".
However, aside from the two Spanish giants, other European clubs and leagues have joined Manchester United in opposing the ESL.
Bayern Munich expressed their support for European competition under Uefa and said "the door for the Super League at FC Bayern remains closed".
The German Football League, which is in charge of the Bundesliga, said it "explicitly supports the European sports model and rejects competitions outside those competitions organised by the federations and the leagues".
France's Ligue de Football Professionnel said it "unequivocally supports" competitions organised by Uefa.
All advantage lies with Uefa
Analysis from Miguel Delaney - chief football writer at The Independent
All anybody really cares about is can a European Super League be launched?
And what this judgement does is say it is still immensely complicated.
All advantage lies with Uefa and crucially the Super League would still have to get authorisation from Uefa.
What today's ruling does is it basically preserves the power of the governing bodies. It makes it clear that legally sporting merit needs to be protected.
