Court declares FIFA, UEFA rules on prior approval of interclub football competitions contrary to EU law

By Selcuk Bugra Gokalp

ANKARA (AA) – The European Court of Justice (CJEU) on Thursday ruled that the FIFA and UEFA rules on prior approval of interclub football competitions, such as the Super League, are contrary to the EU law.

“The FIFA and UEFA rules making any new interclub football project subject to their prior approval, such as the Super League, and prohibiting clubs and players from playing in those competitions are unlawful," a statement from the court said. "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 added.

According to the court, a competition such as the Super League project "must not necessarily be approved" and the rules of FIFA and UEFA on approval, control and sanctions "must be held to be unjustified restrictions on the freedom to provide services."

The European Super League was a proposed competition project held between 12 European football clubs (Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Inter Milan, Juventus, Milan, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid) in 2021.

The International Association of Football Federation (FIFA) and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) objected to the project, threatening to impose sanctions on clubs and players who might decide to participate.