European Super League can move forward. FIFA and UEFA do not have the legitimacy to ban | Soccer

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It was created with the intention of being a tournament reserved for the richest and most powerful, but UEFA and FIFA killed the idea with threats of bans on clubs and players. However, this Thursday, European Justice once again opened the door to the existence of a Super League, considering that the two entities that manage world football cannot interfere in the holding of private competitions.

The decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) was announced this Thursday, with the ruling pointing out an abuse of the “dominant position” of FIFA and UEFA in the joint position against the holding of the controversial football Super League.

The process was initiated after the companies managing the sports project, A22 Spots Management and the European Super League, filed a complaint against the actions of the two federative entities. The decision does not allow for appeal, and it now remains to be seen whether the former clubs that committed to holding the tournament will go back on their withdrawal.

The CEO of A22, Bernd Reichart, says on the social network

The idea for the competition was supported by 12 founding clubs: AC Milan, Arsenal, Atlético Madrid, Chelsea, Barcelona, ​​Inter Milan, Juventus, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Tottenham. Of these, only Barcelona, ​​Real Madrid and Juventus did not withdraw from the project.

Reacting to Thursday’s decision, UEFA remains confident that the CJEU’s ruling does not necessarily mean that the Super League has the “green light” to move forward. This entity says that a “gap existing in the UEFA pre-authorization framework” was exposed and has since been corrected, something that makes the event unfeasible.

“UEFA remains steadfast in its commitment to defending the European football pyramid, ensuring that it continues to serve the wider interests of society. We will continue to shape the European sporting model together with national federations, leagues, clubs, fans, players , coaches, EU institutions, governments and other partners”, can be read in the statement published on site.

Prizes higher than “Champions”

In practice, the idea is simple: the competition takes place with 15 powerful clubs, joining these five more selected according to a ranking of income. The plans for this competition were initially denounced by Football Leaks, a project headed by Rui Pinto. Florentino Pérez, president of Real Madrid, called for this European Super League, but the plans would be canceled after criticism was received on a global scale.

Seen as a replacement for the Champions League, the competition was accused of being elitist and privileging the clubs’ financial power. Just 48 hours after being announced, plans for the Super League would be suspended indefinitely.

The competition had foreseen a prize pool of 3.5 billion euros, distributed among the founding clubs before the first kick was made. At the top, each club would receive between 200 and 300 million euros.

Commercial agreements for sponsorships and television broadcasts would also be added to these funds. All in all, the revenue for those involved would far exceed what the best teams currently receive in the Champions League. The North American investment bank JPMorgan Chase would be the main financier in this project.

“Players who enter this test [Superliga Europeia] will be banned from entering World Cups and European Championships”, said UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin at the time. Dozens of clubs, politicians and other sports figures came together against holding the event. Now, after the most recent decision, we just have to wait for the movements of the most powerful clubs in Europe.