Super League: European Court of Justice backs UEFA in initial ruling over breakaway league
CBSN
Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus are still pushing for the breakaway league
The three clubs left standing in the fight to introduce a Super League have been handed an early blow after a legal expert at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) said that FIFA and UEFA's current regulations are compatible with EU competition law.
Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus -- acting as the European Super League Company -- have been battling in court to prove that the governing bodies of world football were acting as a cartel, blocking them from creating any new competitions. These clubs argue that in threatening sporting sanctions for players who participate in the Super League, including being banned from the World Cup or European Championships, FIFA and UEFA are abusing their monopoly in world football.
In an initial on Thursday morning Athanasios Rantos, the ECJ's advocate general, said: "The FIFA-UEFA rules under which any new competition is subject to prior approval are compatible with EU competition law." He added that EU law would not prohibit UEFA and FIFA from being allowed to license any competition, meaning that Super League clubs would require the backing of governing body for their tournament. That does not mean that the triumvirate could not start their Super League, but if they did so, they could be expelled from the UEFA ecosystem.
