The European Super League is not as dead as many people thought after a Spanish court ruled that teams should not be banned from joining the competition.
Clubs from the continent’s top five leagues came together to propose the idea of a giant league to be played alongside the regular competitions throughout the season, but it was met with massive criticism.
It led to UEFA and FIFA banning clubs from joining and threatening retrospective punishment for anyone who did.
But Madrid’s commercial court has now said the world governing bodies were wrong to do so and branded it as anti-competitive behaviour as well as abusing their dominant position.
The case was brought by A22 Sports Management – the masterminds behind the Super League.
Although there was a ruling in favour of the claimant, UEFA says it is not an endorsement of the competition.
Uefa and Fifa were wrong to ban clubs from joining the breakaway European Super League, a Spanish court has ruled.
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However, chief executive of A22 Bernd Reichart said: “The era of monopoly is now definitely over and this is an important step towards a truly competitive and sustainable club football landscape in Europe.”
The saga started in 2021 when a handful of teams – including Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham – agreed to join the European Super League.
But less than 72 hours later, most of them had pulled out of the project due to the fury and protests it has sparked across the country.
However, Real Madrid and Barcelona have remained vocal in their desire to continue building a Super League and they will be encouraged by the breaking news today.
