WHAT IS THE EUROPEAN SUPER LEAGUE? 

Germany’s Der Speigel uncovered a document from the Football Leakes in 2018, where he reported on the possibility of a European Super League (ESL). The idea behind the league was to have a 16-team tournament. Out of 16 teams, 11 were to be labelled as “core founding clubs” who would have a guaranteed sport in ESL for 20 years. The purpose behind the ESL was to capitalize on the Television rights by eliminating the predictability group stage in the pre-existing leagues. Realizing this project 12 of Europe’s leading football club announced earlier this week that they have agreed to establish the proposed ESL as the “founding clubs”, led by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez as the chairman of the league.

WHICH TEAMS WERE INITIALLY INVOLVED? As of writing this Article, Juventus Chairman declared that the League cannot go ahead due to the withdrawal of multiple teams within 24 hours. Initially, the teams that were supposed to be part of this league were:

1. Arsenal;

2. Chelsea;

3. Liverpool;

4. Manchester City;

5. Manchester United;

6. Tottenham Hotspur;

7. Atletico Madrid;

8. AC Milan;

9. Inter Milan;

10. Juventus;

11. Barcelona;

12. Real Madrid.

III. THE LAW PERSPECTIVE

UEFA President Ceferin in his recent news conference made his intention crystal clear to ban the 12 Clubs and to prevent the participating players from appearing in any major tournaments. Out of the 12 Clubs, 5 were scheduled to be in the upcoming Champion Leagues semi-final.

Major Legal Issues

a. Contract Law Litigation

If the formation of the Super League causes clubs, players, sponsors, broadcasters and other parties with contractual obligations to breach their existing or outstanding duties, lawsuits for breach and tortious interference could be brought in U.K., EU and other courts. Contracts that have “specific performance” obligations—obligations that require a party to perform an act—could also be enforced. Further, intellectual property and privacy rights, which are often contemplated in contracts, could be implicated if proprietary information and data are divulged in the course of league formation.

b. Competition law

The consolidation of teams in one league could be portrayed as diminishing competition in the sport and harming fan interest. In response, the Super League would likely argue that the ability of five teams to join the league based on open competition is consistent with open markets. The Super League could also maintain that its plan will enhance the quality of play and therefore enhance the fan and consumer experience. Competition law also governs the relationship between players and their clubs and restricts the use of so-called “transfer fees,” where a club that acquires a player pays a fee to the club that previously employed the player.

Is Government intervention a viable option?

The government cannot be expected to step in and decide on this matter as it would violate the self-regulation model, which is also prevented under FIFA Statutes. FIFA statutes prevent overt government interference with domestic football governance as incompatible with membership. It would certainly be ironic if FIFA opposed legislation that would help UEFA in this scenario.

What steps could have taken in case the ESL actually happened?

a. A windfall tax on the clubs concerned and laws about ownership might have more mileage.

b. Legislating to reduce the visa rights of foreign footballers intending to play in the ESL is possible as long as it does not violate any human rights.

c. Withdrawing funding from the policing of football matches.

As for threatening to ban players from UEFA competitions and even from playing for their national teams, this tactic has failed before. In 1978, the cricket world was rocked by the news that Australian media magnate Kerry Packer had signed up group of top players to launch a big-money breakaway competition called World Series Cricket. England star Tony Greig, who was a lynchpin for the project, was stripped of the national captaincy. The Test and County Cricket Board (TCCB) and International Cricket Council (ICC) then restricted other participants in Packer’s competition from playing in international test matches, which significantly affected the English national squad. Greig and his colleagues challenged the move at the high court and won against the ICC and TCCB because it was an unlawful restraint of trade. The penalized players could also turn to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland, which could have jurisdiction because UEFA is contractually linked to the breakaway clubs.

CURRENT SITUATION

The Super League collapsed before a ball was kicked in the European breakaway competition after being abandoned by the six English clubs, leaving the Spanish and Italian participants stranded.

The Super League issued the following statement:

“The European Super League is convinced that the current status quo of European football needs to change. We are proposing a new European competition because the existing system does not work. Our proposal is aimed at allowing the sport to evolve while generating resources and stability for the full football pyramid, including helping to overcome the financial difficulties experienced by the entire football community as a result of the pandemic. It would also provide materially enhanced solidarity payments to all football stakeholders.

Despite the announced departure of the English clubs, forced to take such decisions due to the pressure put on them, we are convinced our proposal is fully aligned with European law and regulations as was demonstrated today by a court decision to protect the Super League from third party actions.

Given the current circumstances, we shall reconsider the most appropriate steps to reshape the project, always having in mind our goals of offering fans the best experience possible while enhancing solidarity payments for the entire football community.”

It would be interesting to see how ESL fights back and how the lawyers would be presenting their case, in case ESL plans to proceed with a lawsuit.