Blow to UEFA as Barcelona, Juventus and Real Madrid win their court dispute on ill-fated European Super League launch.
Barcelona, Juventus and Real Madrid have declared their plan to press on with the European Super League after a court defended them against UEFA disciplinary proceedings relating to the project’s ill-fated launch earlier this year.
On Friday, the mercantile court in Madrid threw out UEFA’s suit against its ruling earlier this month that pronounced disciplinary proceedings concerned with the founding 12 Super League clubs must be scrapped.
The Spanish duo and Italian titans welcomed the decision against what they termed “UEFA threats” and condemned European football’s governing body for its “monopolistic position” over its governance of the game in a joint statement.
The case will now be assessed by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.
“FC Barcelona, Juventus, and Real Madrid CF welcome today’s court’s decision enforcing, with immediate effect, UEFA’s obligation to unwind the actions taken against all European Super League founding clubs, including terminating the disciplinary proceedings against the undersigning three clubs and removing the penalties and restrictions imposed on the remaining nine founding clubs for them to avoid UEFA’s disciplinary action,” the statement read.
“The court backs the request made by the promoters of the European Super League, dismisses UEFA’s appeal, and confirms its warning to UEFA that failure to comply with its ruling shall result in fines and potential criminal liability.”
The statement continued: “Our aim is to keep developing the Super League project in a constructive and cooperative manner, always counting on all football stakeholders: fans, players, coaches, clubs, leagues, and national and international associations.
“We are aware that there are elements of our proposal that should be reviewed and, of course, can be improved through dialogue and consensus. We remain confident in the success of a project that will be always compliant with European Union laws.”
The recommended Super League format ensured participation for its 12 founders but quickly provoked outrage across the footballing world in April.
With the Premier League clubs – Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal – pulling out, Milan, Inter and Atletico Madrid soon followed.
Those nine clubs each accepted to pay €15million in support of European grassroots football initiatives and cede five percent of their revenues from UEFA club competitions in the approaching season after settlement talks with the governing body.
Barcelona, Juventus and Real Madrid did not stand down, provoking a UEFA investigation and the launch of disciplinary proceedings in May that were expected to yield more unrelenting punishments.
Friday’s ruling in the Spanish capital effectively renders all of those measures void. UEFA is yet to clarify on the latest developments.
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