UEFA, Leagues, Clubs, Fans Oppose Super League Despite ECJ Ruling

UEFA, leagues, clubs, fans oppose Super League despite ECJ ruling (Image Source: IANS)

The German Football Association: Despite the verdict by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the Super League case, UEFA, major European leagues, many clubs and fans groups expressed their opposition to the Super League.

The ECJ ruled that FIFA and UEFA cannot generally make other competitions dependent on their approval and cannot prohibit clubs and players from taking part, reports Xinhua.

In 2021, 12 top European clubs announced plans to break away from their domestic leagues to form a European Super League, but the plan fell apart amid strong opposition from several quarters.

However, Real Madrid and Barcelona did not give up, and the European Superleague Company accused UEFA and FIFA of acting as a cartel because of their opposition to the founding of the Super League, and for their intention to punish the clubs for participating in other competitions.

According to EU law, a product that competes with the UEFA Champions League must in principle be possible. However, judges explained that this does not necessarily mean that the Super League has to be approved.

"This ruling does not signify an endorsement or validation of the so-called 'Super League'; it rather underscores a pre-existing shortfall within UEFA's pre-authorization framework, a technical aspect that has already been acknowledged and addressed in June 2022," read a UEFA statement.

UEFA says it remains resolute in its commitment to uphold the European football pyramid, ensuring that it continues to serve the broader interests of society.

"We will continue to shape the European sports model collectively with national associations, leagues, clubs, fans, players, coaches, EU institutions, governments and partners alike. We trust that the solidarity-based European football pyramid that the fans and all stakeholders have declared as their irreplaceable model will be safeguarded against the threat of breakaways by European and national laws," said UEFA.

Germany's Bundesliga (DFL) said the ECJ's requirements on transparency, objectiveness and non-discrimination is "understandable". The ECJ's decision does not mean that a competition like the Super League would necessarily have to be permitted. The legality of the Super League is a separate question.

The DFL said in an official statement that it would support the current European sports model and reject competitions outside of those organized by the associations and leagues.

"National leagues are the backbone for professional football in Europe. The pyramid structure based on the European sports model, its basic principles and supporting regulations, including cost regulations, are the decisive basis for the positive development of European football," said DFL managing director Marc Lenz.

Writing on X, the Spanish professional football league called the Super League a selfish and elitist model, adding that any format that is not totally open, with direct access, year by year, via domestic leagues, is a closed model.

"European football has already spoken. Do not insist," La Liga addressed the supporters of a Super League, especially Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, who had continued to push the project forward in recent months.

The German Football Association (DFB) said it would continue to resolutely oppose the efforts to introduce Super league.

"Such a purely commercial-oriented league would decouple itself from the existing structures of organized sport and undermine partnership in football," explained DFB President Bernd Neuendorf in a statement on Thursday.

"The unity of football is one of the foundations of sport in Germany and Europe. It is lived through solidarity between professional and amateur clubs," said Neuendorf. "The German umbrella organization will continue to work for the continued existence of the European sports model in close coordination with UEFA, its national associations, as well as with the DFL and other European leagues."

Jan-Christian Dreesen, CEO of FC Bayern Munich and vice-chairman of the European Club Association (ECA), also reiterated his previous stance.

"The judgment does not change the attitude of FC Bayern and the ECA that such a competition would represent an attack on the importance of the national leagues and the statics of European football," said Dreesen on Thursday.

"The Bundesliga forms the foundation of FC Bayern, just as all national leagues form the foundation of European football clubs. Therefore, it is our duty and our deep conviction to strengthen them, not weaken them. We support the European club competitions under the umbrella of UEFA. Once again, it's very clear: the door for the Super League at FC Bayern remains closed," said the 56-year-old.

The European fans organization Football Supporters Europe (FSE) positioned itself against the Super league, posting on X in response to the ECJ ruling: "Whatever comes next, the Super League remains a poorly thought-out project that endangers the future of European football. There is no place in European football for a breakaway Super League."