IIt is difficult to interpret a revolution which has not yet occurred and which we do not even know if it will occur, especially if we read it in a very technical judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). Twenty-eight years after the earthquake of the Bosman ruling, taken by the ancestor of this body, and which brutally deregulated the market for transfers of professional athletes, this shock wave remains to be evaluated.
Seized by the promoters of the Super League – a semi-private competition whose launch had failed in April 2021 – a Spanish court had asked the CJEU to rule on the compliance with EU law of the sanctions which the clubs and Players who would participate in this competition were then threatened by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the European football government, and by the International Football Federation (FIFA), its global counterpart. At stake: the monopoly on the organization of competitions held by these confederations.
The triumphalism of the company A22 Sports Management (promoter of a revamped, less closed version of the Super League), which proclaimed “the end of the UEFA monopoly”, is not justified. This monopoly is not called into question and “in no case has the CJEU […] expressly validated or invalidated this specific Super League project”explain a note written by lawyers from the Center for Sports Law and Economics (CDES).
An unlikely “paradigm shift”
They note that, according to the Court, if the obstacle to the free provision of services is constituted, “the rules in question cannot be described, in general, as abusive exploitation of a dominant position”. She criticizes these rules for not being defined by “material criteria and procedural arrangements to ensure their transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate nature”.
For the CDES, “the lines have clearly evolved”but one “paradigm shift” remains unlikely. The legal battle is not over: the ball is returned to the court of Spanish justice, and UEFA, which already modified its regulations last year, will defend their compliance. Above all, the political battle can finally begin.
The conditions for launching a new Super League are far from being met. All (other) stakeholders have renewed their opposition to the project: professional leagues, European clubs and club unions, fan organizations, public authorities. For now, the projected competition only has two members, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.
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