EU's top court rules UEFA, FIFA can't block Super League - ESPN

Europe's top court ruled that UEFA's control of European football is an illegal monopoly under EU competition law on Thursday, in a significant boost to the Super League project.

The Super League and its backers, A22 Sports, argued that UEFA's prohibition of the would-be competition — first launched in April 2021 — and its threatened punishments for participating clubs were incompatible with Europe's laws on freedom of competition.

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Thursday's ruling by the European Court of Justice [ECJ] found that FIFA and UEFA's rules requiring new football competitions to be subject to their prior approval were «contrary to EU law.»

«The FIFA and UEFA rules making any new interclub football project subject to their prior approval, such as the Super League, and prohibiting clubs and players from playing in those competitions, are unlawful,» the court said. «There is no framework for the FIFA and UEFA rules ensuring that they are transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate.

»Similarly, the rules giving FIFA and UEFA exclusive control over the commercial exploitation of the rights related to those competitions are such as to restrict competition, given their importance for the media, consumers and television viewers in the European Union."

The court found that organising football competitions is an economic activity and «therefore must comply with the competition rules and respect the freedom of movement.»

The decision goes against a non-binding opinion issued by the court's Advocate General in December 2022, which had argued that UEFA and FIFA's regulations — and UEFA's role as sole governing and disciplinary body for European football — were in line with EU law.

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