European Super League | ECJ rule that UEFA and FIFA acted unlawfully in blocking Super League (p 29)

If you can find it you should read the ruling. The ECJ found that FIFA and UEFA had acted unlawfully when it threatened to punish players and clubs joining the super league. The governing bodies should be more open to competition and had abused a dominant position. There is no place for arbitrary rules to prevent competition. The ruling clearly shows the subjection of the game in Europe to European competition law, so it also rules that new competitions are subject to the same law. The ECJ found that “rules making any new interclub football project subject to their (UEFA's and/or FIFA's prior approval . . . are unlawful”.

As I've said earlier I think this is of massive importance for UEFA, which for years now has behaved with an arrogant belief that it is above the law and the assumption that what suits it is the law. It has in effect ceased being a regulatory body and become almost a commercial rival to the majority of European clubs while courting the favour and support of a few. It needs to wake up and realise that if its football pyramid is the retain the support of the football loving public, of the clubs which they watch then it has to be a genuine governing body rather than what it often seems - a bunch of cowardly get rich quick merchants.

I will find it and read it :)

I think UEFA gets treated fairly badly on here, tbh. For obvious historical reasons. But they do send a great proportion of the money received down to the member federations for grass roots football and to support the pyramid. I doubt the ESL would be as philanthropic.
 
For the Rosette wearing, Ken Baily, dewy eyed, Accrington Stanley longing fans of yesteryear, the saying is -if it ain't broke don't fix it. Unfortunately it is broke and the only people wanting it fixed want it fixed for the usual favoured clubs only.
If Gary, Neville, Jamie Carragher, Sky, Gary Lineker, Talkshite, The Beep, GDM etc are dead against it........count me in.
Fine after fine, bent decision after bent decision, 115 trumped up charges, the constant undermining and moving of goalposts to disrail us, the disrespect we're shown etc. - and some are happy to stay. I give up.
UEFA/FIFA are complete twats, they need their cages rattling.
 
If you can find it you should read the ruling. The ECJ found that FIFA and UEFA had acted unlawfully when it threatened to punish players and clubs joining the super league. The governing bodies should be more open to competition and had abused a dominant position. There is no place for arbitrary rules to prevent competition. The ruling clearly shows the subjection of the game in Europe to European competition law, so it also rules that new competitions are subject to the same law. The ECJ found that “rules making any new interclub football project subject to their (UEFA's and/or FIFA's prior approval . . . are unlawful”.

As I've said earlier I think this is of massive importance for UEFA, which for years now has behaved with an arrogant belief that it is above the law and the assumption that what suits it is the law. It has in effect ceased being a regulatory body and become almost a commercial rival to the majority of European clubs while courting the favour and support of a few. It needs to wake up and realise that if its football pyramid is the retain the support of the football loving public, of the clubs which they watch then it has to be a genuine governing body rather than what it often seems - a bunch of cowardly get rich quick merchants.

OK. I breezed through it, all 250 paragraphs, and I have a headache. :)

I am still not seeing any nails in the UEFA/CL coffin tbh. Clearly, the ECJ found that UEFA had broken competition law and had abused their power placing the 2001 ESL project under pre-approval where there is no framework for those various powers providing for substantive criteria and detailed procedural rules suitable for ensuring that they are transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate.
There still seems to be enough scope to implement that framework and, if I understand UEFA correctly, it is saying that it has done so. At the very least, this new ESL project, I imagine, would have to be pre-approved under the new framework, after which I would expect more court cases on the transparency, objectivity, inclusiveness and proportionality of the framework. Will probably take years yet, even if any other clubs sign up.

Or I could be completely wrong, of course. :)

Anyway, I will give it a better read when after the match if my headache has gone away. :)

Off for an hour's sleep before the match. Let's hope for a good one.
 
I will find it and read it :)

I think UEFA gets treated fairly badly on here, tbh. For obvious historical reasons. But they do send a great proportion of the money received down to the member federations for grass roots football and to support the pyramid. I doubt the ESL would be as philanthropic.
I am most certainly not at all favourable to a break away super league and I actually think that the present "football pyramid" is about as good as it gets BUT UEFA has conducted itself absolutely disgracefully in so many ways over the last god knows how many years. The Bosman case is one example. UK courts had found that the retain and transfer system was unlawful in 1963 and yet UEFA defended it to the letter nearly 40 years later, and even told the ECJ that it was up to UEFA to decide the matter, not the courts. No contract law and free movement in football, thank you. Never mind that the law exists to define and PROTECT the rights of ALL parties, players and clubs, it doesn't suit UEFA so we're 'aving none of it. Then there's the attitude to money coming into the game. We at City are preoccupied with the hostility towards Sheikh Mansour and our club, but it was Chelsea and Abramovitch who provoked the first concern. UEFA were concerned that the influx of money from sources beyond their control would change the game . Sponsorship was very lucrative forr UEFA and this led to the cosy alliance with the CL clique of nineties and noughties clubs which burdened a game with a crying need for investment with the travesty of FFP. And then there was the farce of the super league! A spineless UEFA wringing its hands and wailing until the fans showed what backbone can achieve. Then UEFA became the hard man again. And there we have UEFA - clueless and spineless.

Now there is a real threat in the form of a super league, though it seems unlikely that it will have any English, German, French teams in it and very few Spanish. Whatever the case UEFA have a strong hand. The competitions available in Europe are comprehensive and popular with the public. It is hard to see the super league improving on this. The problem is that so many are convinced that UEFA does not "rule" with an even or fair hand. It is too close to a chosen few clubs and it seems to fill its posts of responsibility with their officials. This leads inevitably to conflicts of interest and nowhere is this clearer than in matters of finance. UEFA has to stop acting as though it has the right to interfere in commercial matters and confine itself to providing us with a game clubs want to play and we want to watch.
 
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It's bound to happen now. They will be able to pool together billions.

Gateway for Saudi clubs to play top European clubs.
 
For the Rosette wearing, Ken Baily, dewy eyed, Accrington Stanley longing fans of yesteryear, the saying is -if it ain't broke don't fix it. Unfortunately it is broke and the only people wanting it fixed want it fixed for the usual favoured clubs only.
If Gary, Neville, Jamie Carragher, Sky, Gary Lineker, Talkshite, The Beep, GDM etc are dead against it........count me in.
The current custodians = Fine after fine, bent decision after bent decision, 115 trumped up charges, the constant undermining and moving of goalposts to disrail us, the disrespect we're shown etc. - and some are happy to stay. I give up.

I agree it’s broke, I just don’t believe this is the fix.
 

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