Explainer-What does the European Super League verdict mean for football?

The European Court of Justice ruled on Thursday that European soccer's governing body UEFA and its global counterpart FIFA breached EU law when they prevented 12 clubs from forming a European Super League (ESL).

WHAT IS THE EUROPEAN SUPER LEAGUE?

Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus plus nine other European major clubs announced the breakaway ESL - a closed league - in April 2021.

Sports development company A22 assisted with creating the ESL.

But the move collapsed within 48 hours after an outcry from fans, governments and players forced Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid to pull out.

WHAT WAS ESL'S CASE AGAINST UEFA?

A22 CEO Bernd Reichart said the ESL wanted to break what he described was a monopoly of competitions run by UEFA, which has organised European competitions for nearly 70 years and sees the ESL as a significant threat.

When the breakaway clubs were threatened with sanctions, the ESL went to court claiming that UEFA and FIFA held a monopoly position which was in breach of the European Union's Competition and Free Movement Law.

Despite nine clubs pulling out, the three holdouts - Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus - still hoped to get the ESL up and running. However, Juventus opted to pull out earlier this year when the Italian club's board changed.

Real and Barca took the case to a Spanish court, which subsequently sought guidance from the Luxembourg-based European Court.

WHAT WAS THE EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE VERDICT?

The Court said UEFA and FIFA contravened EU law by preventing the formation of a Super League and that they abused their dominant position by forbidding clubs to compete in the ESL.

The court said that both