UEFA and Superliga continue without approaching positions. HToday the faces have been seen again in the Commercial Court Number 17 in the review of the precautionary measures for the ‘Superliga Case’. The magistrate Sofía Gil García proposed to them in early March that both parties reach an agreement regarding said measures, all of them agreed to try that rapprochement, but it has not arrived. In said hearing, in addition to UEFA, LaLiga and the RFEF were also part of the defendant, which were later included in the process as an interested party. The employer warned before the court the consequences that the threat of the creation of this new competition is having; while the plaintiff assured that LaLiga has expelled two of its teams from a control body.
About a year after the birth of the European Super League, the legal clashes are beginning between all those involved. LaLiga, in its presentation to the magistrate, warned that only the announcement of this competition, despite the fact that it does not aim to get ahead in the short term, is harming its negotiations. “The announcement of the Super League has had a real impact on all the leagues in their commercialization of audiovisual rights. The operators are considering the possibility of it starting up and there are clauses included in the new contracts to review the amount if there is a change in the competition. The Super League could affect the current First Division format. A competition outside the single calendar is proposed, therefore, the Super League will set its matches independently of the rest of the competitions and it would hardly fit in”, argued the lawyer for LaLiga. The plaintiff replied: “Both UEFA and LaLiga have marketed their competitions without any problem and for millionaire amounts higher than the previous ones. They have obtained greater economic returns”. And they add: “The Super League clubs have agreed to continue playing their natural competitions. The conflict would be with the Champions League, not with the leagues. The Super League, today, does not create any danger for them.”
Another consequence of the Super League is in one of the organs of LaLiga. The plaintiff accused the employer of retaliation against Real Madrid and Barcelona: “On March 1, 2022, the president of LaLiga, Javier Tebas, expelled Real Madrid and Barcelona from the audiovisual rights control commission, considering that they have conflicting interests. They cannot say that the Superliga project is dead if they act like I’m alive.” The LaLiga lawyer questioned: “They have not been expelled, they were asked to refrain from intervening.”
“The Super League is still alive”
The UEFA-LaLiga-RFEF front pointed out that the object of the lawsuit had changed and that the Superliga as such was not going to take place. Which led the plaintiff to assure that it was not true: “The Super League is still alive. Society remains committed to organizing an alternative competition to UEFA’s. It is not in the best situation, but they have the vocation to carry it outAlthough he assured that they were not a danger: “Today, the Super League does not create any danger for them.” Fernando Irurzun, who led the defense of the Super League, defended that the precautionary measures be maintained: “FIFA, which is a of the defendants, does not oppose the precautionary measures. Nor has he filed opposition.” And he added: “Ceferín has stated that the best thing about 2021 has been to finish and kill the Super League. Imagine what would have happened without the existence of the precautionary ones.”
The Super League continued to defend its model of wanting to be recognized by UEFA and FIFA or not starting until they have sufficient legal guarantees to do so. “The substance of the lawsuit is not whether the competition is going to be an open or closed competition, but whether UEFA and FIFA exercise a position that prevents free competition. They not only organize the competitions, but also want to decide who can or not to do a competition”. UEFA, for its part, pointed to the international support against the Super League: “Various institutions have spoken out defending the principles of the European sports model and affirm that it puts the national leagues at risk. They all point to the importance of preserving the current ecosystem and that the Super League can cause great damage”. Judge Sofía Gil García will have to decide in the coming days whether to maintain, modify or revoke the precautionary measures.
What are the precautionary measures in the Superliga Case?
1. Order FIFA and UEFA, during the processing of the main proceedings, to refrain from adopting any measure or action; and to issue any statement or communication that prevents or hinders, directly or indirectly, the preparation of the European Football Super League.
2. Order FIFA and UEFA, during the processing of the main proceedings, to adopt, when they have to do so, any measure or action, and to issue, when they have to do so, any measure or action, and to issue, when they have to do so, any statement or communication that, directly or indirectly, does not prevent or hinder the preparation of the European Football Super League.
3. Order FIFA and UEFA, during the processing of the main proceedings, to refrain from adopting any measure or action; and to issue any statement or communication that prevents or hinders, directly or indirectly, the start-up and development of the European Football Super League and the participation of clubs and players in it.
4. Order FIFA and UEFA, during the processing of the main proceedings, to adopt, when they have to do so, any measure or action, and to issue, when they have to do so, any statement or communication, which, directly or indirectly, does not impede or not hinder the start-up and development of the European Football Super League.
5. Prohibit FIFA and UEFA from directly or indirectly (through its associated members, confederations, licensee clubs or national or domestic leagues) during the main proceedings from announcing, threatening, preparing, initiating and/or adopt any disciplinary or sanctioning measures (or, directly or indirectly, incite or promote that said disciplinary or sanctioning measures be announced, threatened, prepared, initiated and/or adopted by third parties) against the clubs, directors and people of the clubs and /or players who participate in the preparation of the European Football Super League.
6. Order FIFA and UEFA to refrain, directly or indirectly (through their associate members, confederations, licensed clubs or national or domestic leagues), from excluding clubs and/or players participating in the preparation of the Super League European Football Championship of any international or national club competitions in which they have been participating regularly or meet the necessary requirements to do so.
7. Order FIFA and UEFA that, during the processing of the main proceedings, through or by means of their own regulatory instruments, guides, decisions and directives- in the sense of article 52 of the UEFA Statutes-, and, where appropriate , the requirement of their compliance if they were not complied with or observed, instruct their associate members (including national federations), confederations, licensed clubs and national or domestic leagues, to comply with the orders and prohibitions contained in the previous sections and , in particular, warn them that any breach of the statutes or rules of FIFA, UEFA, its associated members (including national federations), confederations, or national or domestic leagues, arising from the preparation, implementation or participation in the European Football Super League may be invoked by FIFA or UEFA associate members, confederations, licensed clubs or national or domestic leagues. cases, as a cause of sanction, exclusion, claim, or any other analogous measure, against the clubs, directors and personnel of the clubs or players in international or domestic competitions.
8. Order FIFA and UEFA that, in the event that, prior to the resolution of this request for precautionary measures, any of the behaviors described in the previous sections have been carried out, they carry out the necessary actions to remove and terminate them immediately.