UEFA, La Liga, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid React to Court Ruling on European Super League

Reactions from major football stakeholders are trailing the ruling of the European Court of Justice which held that UEFA and FIFA acted illegally to block the creation of the European Super League in April 2021.

The Court in its ruling on Thursday, said “FIFA and UEFA rules making any new interclub football project subject to their prior approval, such as the Super League, and prohibiting clubs and players from playing in those competitions, are unlawful.”

However, the summary of the written judgment stressed that the ruling doesn’t necessarily mean that the Super League project should now be authorised, just that FIFA and UEFA have been “abusing a dominant position” in the football market.

#ECJ: The #FIFA and #UEFA rules on prior approval of interclub #football competitions, such as the Super League, are contrary to #EUlaw #EuropeanSuperleague 👉 https://t.co/ATb3CgbPxg pic.twitter.com/XCnLzwIKWb

— EU Court of Justice (@EUCourtPress) December 21, 2023

Following the court ruling, UEFA and La Liga claimed victory in the court case saying that the ruling “does not signify an endorsement or validation of” the Super League.

UEFA takes note of the judgment delivered today by the ECJ in the European Super League case.

Full statement: ⬇️

— UEFA (@UEFA) December 21, 2023

The CJEU ruling does not approve the European Super League.

The CJEU states that "it does not mean that a competition such as the Super League project must necessarily be approved". #EarnItOnThePitch

👉https://t.co/QrrnONmEdr pic.twitter.com/HSPh1OZSaK

— LALIGA Corporativo (@LaLigaCorp) December 21, 2023

Meanwhile, the company promoting the European Super League, A22, also claimed victory from the court and released details of its latest concept, including men’s and women’s midweek competitions with promotion and relegation.

„We have won the #RightToCompete. The UEFA-monopoly is over. Football is FREE. Clubs are now free from the threat of sanction AND free to determine their own futures”, our CEO Bernd Reichart comments the CJEU decision. 1/4

— A22 Sports (@A22Sports) December 21, 2023

We want to give women's football the attention it deserves and we will create the most exciting competition in the world. Watch the video to see what it will look like. #BetterForFootball pic.twitter.com/PKtJeHyl77

— A22 Sports (@A22Sports) December 21, 2023

Our proposed new men's ESL competition is a league structure based on a true pan-European pyramid: It will consist of 64 participating clubs in three tiers. Watch the video to learn more about the key elements. #BetterForFootball pic.twitter.com/yHfhVaPTFt

— A22 Sports (@A22Sports) December 21, 2023

Also, the 2 remaining clubs in the European Super League project, Spanish rivals FC Barcelona and Real Madrid both welcomed the ruling of the court, with their Presidents, Joan Laporta and Florentino Perez giving video remarks.

President @JoanLaportaFCB discusses the Super League sentence pic.twitter.com/BVW8QJl3fl

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) December 21, 2023

Institutional statement by the President of @realmadrid pic.twitter.com/v3USKcko0O

— A22 Sports (@A22Sports) December 21, 2023