Tuesday, September 21, 2021
Five-day ultimatum or indictment
Court puts UEFA boss under pressure
The European Super League failed for the time being, but the trouble continues. A Spanish court wants to oblige UEFA to withdraw the threat of sanctions against the clubs involved. This is about exclusion from UEFA competitions.
Spanish judge Manuel Ruiz de Lara has given UEFA a five-day ultimatum to withdraw sanctions threats against the founding members of the controversial Superliga. The European Football Union must officially announce this on its website. Otherwise, UEFA boss Aleksander Ceferin would face charges for failure to comply with a judicial ruling, reported the sports newspaper “Marca”, citing the decision of the Commercial Court number 17 in Madrid on Monday.
The judge said that it was insufficient that UEFA had only overridden the threat to exclude the clubs from competitions. It was initially unclear what impact the court decision would have on UEFA and Ceferin.
The same judge had already prohibited the world association FIFA and UEFA as well as these affiliated organizations and leagues from taking any sanctions or other measures against the twelve founding clubs of the Superleague in April. The April decision was made at the request of the European Superleague Company SL. In May the judge then appealed to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The ECJ should clarify whether FIFA and UEFA exercise monopoly positions in the use and organization of competitions by international clubs that violate EU law.
Twelve European top clubs, including initially six English Premier League clubs, had shocked Europe on the night of April 19 with the publication of their Superleague plans. The super league would have entered into direct competition with the UEFA Champions League, which sharply criticized these plans as well as the world association FIFA and a number of national leagues and associations.
German clubs were not among the Superleague founders. Since the rapid withdrawal of the English clubs, the super league has been off the table for the time being. Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Juventus Turin are sticking to the plans. As a result, UEFA threatened them with the sanctions that have since been suspended.