2023-12-20 18:00:15
It is a decision that the whole of European football is awaiting with great impatience, and with excitement too. Tomorrow, around 9:30 a.m., the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Luxembourg must deliver its verdict. She will rule on UEFA’s monopoly on all European competitions. If the answer is no, the door to the Super League is wide open. No more legal obstacles will prevent the creation of this competition. “If it is not a revolution, it is at least a spectacular development”defend Maîtres Dupont and Hissel, the lawyers of the founding clubs.
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European football is perhaps at the dawn of a radical change, of an even greater magnitude than the Bosman judgment in 1995, including the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Communities (ancestor of the CJEU). had put an end to the quota of foreign players in European Union clubs. She agreed with Jean-Marc Bosman, Belgian midfielder, who wanted to join Dunkirk following the end of his contract at RFC Liège. The Belgian club contested, demanding transfer compensation from the French club. Bosman’s victorious legal action then opened the way to the free movement of European players in EU member states and, mechanically, to the liberalization of transfers.
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Towards an end to the UEFA monopoly?
If the compensation records fall every year or almost, it is thanks (or because, it depends) to modest Belgian football. If UEFA loses its monopoly on European competitions, while retaining its regulatory role, the impact on football that we have seen for 30 years, and the Bosman ruling, will be insane. Like the Super League, clubs can then decide to create their own competition without UEFA having a say. This would go in line with the history of a Europe having chosen economic liberalism and the movement of workers, de facto limiting the intervention of the State and public authorities.
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A year ago, however, the general advocate of the CJEU, Athanasios Rantos, agreed with UEFA, considering that if the Super League was within its right to create a competition independent of UEFA, it must request the authorization in advance to the federations. However, the latter are attached to UEFA. The European body would not abuse its dominant position, as Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, the last defenders of this great reform, emphasized. The Court of Justice of the European Union tends to follow the indictment but we are not immune to a contrary opinion, report rumors in the corridors.
The outlook on the Super League has changed since 2021
It must be said that since the project appeared in April 2021, developments have moved the lines. We are now far from the outcry caused, particularly among supporters. The future format of the UEFA European Cups does not please everyone. At the same time, Saudi Arabia has appeared on the world stage and is moving the cursor of interest in the number one sport. For its part, the Premier League appears more alone in the world than ever with the new TV rights amounts planned for the period 2025-2029. Sky Sports et TNT Sports plan to broadcast the English championship for 1.95 billion euros per season. And that’s without counting international rights.
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For comparison, Ligue 1, whose broadcast rights are currently under renegotiation, is sold for €700 million per year. In other words, the money of the English Premier League crushes all European competition. So many arguments that plead in favor of an overhaul of the system. “We expect the CJEU to end UEFA’s monopoly and uphold the EU’s fundamental freedoms in the world of footballwarned in the columns of The team Bernd Reichart, owner of A22 Sports Management, SL’s promoter company. Supporters, clubs, players and football would all benefit from a sector open to competition of ideas and where clubs might run and organize a European competition without fear of threats.”
A tenfold effect compared to the Bosman ruling
The project has been maturing for a long time. This old sea serpent may be becoming a reality. This would be a real footballing Big Bang because it would call into question the entire European architecture of football that has been established for decades. This Super League, closed or semi-closed depending on the models to be adjusted, would cause even more consequences than the Bosman ruling. In the end, this had “simply” changed the rules regarding transfers. This time, the entire ecosystem would be modified. It is up to the CJEU to choose between the status quo or the total overhaul of the football production chain.
Pub. 12/20/2023 7:00 p.m. Updated 12/20/2023 7:18 p.m.
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