The legal battle between the European Super League, UEFA and FIFA has escalated dramatically after the case was referred to the European Court of Justice.
The surprise move effectively forces UEFA to abandon its current moves to punish Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus, for their role in the breakaway, say expert lawyers.
The European governing body has launched a ‘disciplinary investigation’ that could result in the three rebel clubs being expelled from UEFA’s competitions, including the Champions League, for the next two years.
The two La Liga clubs and one from Serie A are the only three of the original 12 who signed up for the breakaway competition not to have formally withdrawn.
Their refusal to backdown has infuriated UEFA and its president Aleksander Ceferin. Earlier this month UEFA said it ‘reserved all rights to take whatever action it deems appropriate against those clubs.
But any immediate prospect of a ban has been effectively quashed after the European Court of Justice was asked to examine UEFA and FIFA’s treatment of the renegade competition, it’s claimed.
Lawyers spoken to by UK’s Sportsmail suggest UEFA would be ‘stupid’ to pursue a ban – or any punishment – at this point because it could incur the wrath of Europe’s highest court or expose itself to huge damages if the judges find in favour of the Super League.
“UEFA is in a risky position,” an expert in competition law with knowledge of the case told Sportsmail. “This is a strong warning and UEFA will have to think twice. They should know when to stop, and this is a good moment.”
Another competition lawyer, who specialises in Sport, Mark Orth, agreed. He told Sportsmail: “It would not be the most intelligent move, it would be a confrontation with judges, which is never a good idea.”
The three rebel clubs were driving forces behind the hatching of the Super League plan, which emerged on April 18.
Backed by around £3.5billion in funding by American bank JP Morgan, the idea was to create a new midweek competition with at least 12 founder members who could not be relegated from it.
Six Premier League clubs – Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur – as well as Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid from Spain and the Italian trio of Juventus, Inter Milan and AC Milan signed up as founder members.
However, the six English teams withdrew from the plans 48 hours later following a furious backlash from fans. Inter, AC Milan and Atletico also later backed away from the plans.
These nine clubs agreed a peace deal with UEFA earlier this month.
At issue is whether UEFA and FIFA should allow a rival competition to be set up and if they abused their position in threatening clubs, who wanted to participate in the Super League.
If the European court considers football’s governing bodies treated the Super League unfairly, the consequences are far reaching.
“A European Court of Justice judgement in favour of the Super League will make it more likely to happen in the future,’ said Orth, of MEOLaw in Munich. “The legal steps now being taken gives much more certainty for a Super League in the future.
“It would limit UEFA’s ability to discipline the rebel clubs and make it much more difficult for them to ban the clubs from the Champions League or other competitions.
“The risk (in this case going to the European court) is much higher for UEFA.”
There are legal precedents that will give UEFA cause for concern.
The European Commission has previously ruled that the International Skating Union cannot prevent speed skaters from participating in new money-spinning events. That decision was supported in a judgement in Europe’s second highest court, the General Court in Luxembourg, in December.
