Hearing begins on UEFA’s ability to block inception of Super League

The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg (CJEU) heard arguments regarding the Super League’s public disappointment with the governing bodies of European football and world football, UEFA and FIFA, early last week.

The Super League, which promised to bring together twenty of the best teams from across the continent in a yearly competition, came to a halt a mere 48 hours after its official announcement in April 2021. Nine of the initial 12 publicly committed teams backed out of the deal following intense backlash from fans, players, and government officials.

While fans allegedly caused the deal to stop, they were far from the only party upset with the league’s announcement. In a statement by the Premier League, the Super League would harm the ideals of European football, particularly the structure of “an open pyramid, progression through sporting merit and the highest standards of sporting integrity.”

UEFA, which currently runs the Champions League, stated it would do everything in its power to stop the league from coming to fruition. The Super League sued UEFA and FIFA in a Spanish court, asking the CJEU to hear the case.

The hearing began last Monday, and the judges and press at Europe’s highest court were ears to a heated and spendy battle between the two sides. Arguments on UEFA’s side included lawyers referring to the league as a prime example of a cartel and that such an exclusive league would wreak havoc on the open system of competition. In contrast, the Super League’s legal team said UEFA has too large of a conflict of interest given its role in regulating and operating European football. Moreover, because of their unique power situation, the Super League said they believe UEFA would never grant the existence of another league.

While UEFA and FIFA are backed by all 27 member states of the European Union, Iceland, Norway, and the European Commission, the ruling will likely come down to technicalities in European Commerce law. However, The ruling is not expected to come out until 2023 and stands to impact other sports, leagues, and players as the potential for new lucrative deals remains in the air.