Brussels, Oct 14 (EFE).- The European football leagues and the International Federation of Professional Footballers (FIPro) denounced FIFA this Monday before the European Commission for abuse of its dominant position in community football when establishing the calendars of the different competitions.
«The complaint explains how the imposition of decisions on the international calendar by FIFA is an abuse of a dominant position and infringes European Union law. “Recent jurisprudence (…) makes it clear that FIFA must exercise its regulatory functions in a transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate manner to neutralize its conflict of interest,” the plaintiffs said in a statement.
At a press conference in Brussels under the name “Protecting the health of footballers and safeguarding the sustainability of national leagues in Europe against abusive conduct by FIFA”, representatives of FIFPro EUrope, the Spanish League or the Premier League, among others, accused FIFA of not talking to national leagues to organize the calendars of international competitions.
From LaLiga, its president Javier Tebas questioned whether FIFA and UEFA “make appropriate use of a position that the CJEU (Court of Justice of the European Union) has recognized as a monopoly” and assured that both institutions, “key in the development of football”, are exercising an abuse of a dominant position.
“It is surprising that, after nine months of very important resolutions regarding the governance of football in Europe, FIFA has not heard or read the message that is being sent,” Tebas stressed.
The president of the Spanish LaLiga said that he sits “at the table” with the soccer unions in Spain to agree on the calendar and that “the same thing must happen on a global level,” and he regretted that soccer is being governed by “the same rules as ten years ago” when, in his opinion, it is no longer the same sport.
“We want a transparent process, we want agreements and not just consultations, we want a calendar that is sustainable for the players and the domestic leagues,” summarized the director of international relations of the Premier League, Mathieu Moreuil, who regretted that there has never been There was a “positive response” from FIFA when they tried to start a dialogue.
“We have no days left on the calendar,” added the representative of English football, who underlined the risks to the health of the players posed by the saturation of meeting dates with competitions such as the Nations League, the Club World Cup with a ” expanded window” that affects domestic competitions, a World Cup with more teams or more group stage dates in the Champions League.
The lawsuit before the European Commission, which was presented this morning, seeks to force FIFA to establish a “fair and inclusive decision-making process” when establishing the calendar of international events that “ensures the well-being and fundamental rights” of the players, as well as the viability of national leagues.
At the moment, they add, the legality of it being mandatory to release players from their clubs for commitments with national teams is not being questioned.
The spokesperson for the team in charge of the Garrigues firm’s lawsuit, Alfonso Lamadrid, stressed that the case is “a textbook example of behavior that abuses said dominant position” and pointed to FIFA’s status as regulator of the competitions that affect domestic leagues and players without counting on them.
“Matches organized directly or indirectly by FIFA have disproportionate side effects on national leagues,” point out the plaintiffs, who emphasize that “the football ecosystem stops” every time a nine-day window of national team matches arrives that It not only includes the matches but also their preparation and travel.
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