The initiators of the controversial soccer Super League have achieved a legal success. A commercial court in Spain partially upheld a lawsuit filed by the European Super League Company SL (ESLC), which is responsible for the planned competition, against possible sanctions by the international associations FIFA and UEFA
The competent judge at Madrid Commercial Court No. 17, Sofia Gil Garcia, announced in her ruling on Monday that the world governing body FIFA and the European Union UEFA had abused their dominant position and prevented free competition on the market.
The judge ordered the “anti-competitive behavior” to cease. The associations had imposed “unjustified and disproportionate restrictions” that violated two articles “of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)”. However, the ruling is not final and can be appealed in Madrid.
Gil Garcia had to take into account a landmark ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in December. At the time, the EU judges had already accused the international associations of abusing their market power. According to EU law, a competing product to the Champions League must be possible in principle. However, this does not automatically mean that the Super League has to be approved, the European judges said.
“But that does not mean it approves the Super League “
This has now been pointed out in an initial reaction by the boss of the Spanish professional league, Javier Tebas, who is opposed to the project, which is being driven in particular by the president of top Spanish club Real Madrid, the powerful entrepreneur Florentino Perez. “It is important to make it clear that the judge (following the ECJ) is demanding that FIFA and UEFA make the rules for new competitions transparent and guarantee them, but she is not giving her blessing to the Super League,” wrote Tebas on X. The ruling is neither final nor does it bring anything significantly new. Moreover, the Super League is “described as a project that has been abandoned in its original form”.
Following the ruling, it remains questionable whether and when the European Superleague Company project can be realized. In 2021, twelve top European clubs rehearsed the great revolution. They founded the Super League practically out of nowhere – and failed resoundingly. UEFA and FIFA threatened to impose penalties. The outcry from leagues, fans and politicians was so great that most clubs quickly backed down. Apart from Real and FC Barcelona, no one is currently actively supporting the project