The European Court of Justice [ECJ] has ruled in favour of the Super League and its backers, A22 Sports, argued that UEFA's prohibition of the would-be competition; a concept launched in April 2021, and its threatened punishments for participating clubs was an illegal monopoly under European competition law.
According to thursday's ruling by the ECJ, FIFA's and UEFA's rules requiring new football competitions to be subject to their prior approval, and banning players from taking part in those competitions, were unlawful.
"There is no framework for the FIFA and UEFA rules ensuring that they are transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate.
"Similarly, the rules giving FIFA and UEFA exclusive control over the commercial exploitation of the rights related to those competitions are such as to restrict competition, given their importance for the media, consumers and television viewers in the European Union." - the court said.
Before concluding, the court added that this ruling "does not mean that a competition such as the Super League project must necessarily be approved," saying that it was a verdict on FIFA's and UEFA's rules in general, rather than any specific project.
Upon the ruling of the court, UEFA released a statement on Thursday arguing it had already updated its rules following the Super League's attempted launch.
"This ruling does not signify an endorsement or validation of the so-called 'Super League,'" UEFA said. "It rather underscores a pre-existing shortfall within UEFA's pre-authorisation framework, a technical aspect that has already been acknowledged and addressed in June 2022.
"UEFA is confident in the robustness of its new rules, and specifically that they comply with all relevant European laws and regulations."
Bernd Reichart, A22 Sports CEO noted that ""We've won the right to compete, UEFA's monopoly is over. Football is free. Now the clubs won't suffer threats and punishments. They're free to decide their own future."
Florentino Perez, Real Madrid president also added that "From today, clubs will be masters of their own futures. Our right to propose and push for European competitions which modernise our sport and attract fans around the world has been recognised.
"Real Madrid will keep working for the good of football. We'll keep defending a modern project, totally compatible with national competitions, open to everyone, based on sporting merit, with effective financial fair play.
"Nobody said that ending a monopoly after so many decades would be easy. ... From today, the present and future of European football is at last in the hands of the clubs, the players and the fans. Our destiny belongs to us."
Barcelona issued a statement on Thursday expressing its "satisfaction" with the court ruling and saying it "paves the way for a new elite level football competition in Europe."
