Super League rebels plot fresh legal action against UEFA & FIFA
By Tom Gott
Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus are readying fresh legal action against both UEFA and FIFA, accusing the two governing bodies of breaching EU competition laws.
The three sides remain adamant that forming a Super League is best for everyone involved and plan to argue that UEFA should not be permitted to block the formation of other competitions when they benefit financially from the main rival to the Super League, the Champions League.
The Financial Times state that Spanish company A22, who act on behalf of the Super League sides, will ask the European Court of Justice to review UEFA's suitability for their role and whether they, alongside FIFA, have created an unfair 'monopoly' of football's finances.
“Contrary to other sporting competition markets, UEFA and FIFA keep and fiercely defend a monopolistic position in European football that goes against competition law, despite efforts from other operators to access the market,” the Super League rebels state.
UEFA will draw on support from 16 different European governments in their argument, which focuses on preserving the 'European model of sport'.
“Challenges to this model currently being pursued by a few elite football clubs and their financial backers are self-serving and desperate," a UEFA statement read. "They are a danger to European football and the entire European sports ecosystem.”
However, the Super League trio believe FIFA and UEFA should not have exclusive rights to organise competitions in Europe when they also benefit financially from those currently in place. The Champions League would be less valuable without Real, Barcelona and Juventus, and the trio believe UEFA have abused their power by blocking the competition.
Comically, the three sides' case also revolves around the fact that UEFA's current system is designed to benefit only those teams from large countries or with wealthy owners, ignoring the fact that only the biggest clubs on the planet were invited to join the Super League.
A22 have vowed to change the Super League by removing permanent places for founding members and instead introducing a promotion/relegation system, but it's all far too late and is destined never to get off the ground.