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Does competition law apply to UEFA’s and FIFA’s rules on the approval of football club competitions?
CJEU answers yes in the Super League case.
On December 21, 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) delivered a judgment on the preliminary ruling raised by a Commercial Court of Madrid regarding the Super League football case.
A Spanish company (referred to as "ESCL"), formed by various European football clubs, announced the Super League, a new annual European club football competition. In response, FIFA and UEFA, private law associations based in Switzerland, issued a joint statement refusing to recognize this new competition, warning that any player or club participating in it would be excluded from competitions organized by these two associations. In response, the promoting company of the project filed a lawsuit against those associations before the Commercial Court, essentially seeking a declaration of the illegal and detrimental nature of this announcement.
The judgment of the European Court of Justice, which resolves the issues raised by the Spanish Court, especially reminds that sport may constitute an economic activity for the purposes of EU competition law. In this regard, the Court of Justice considers that the organization of club football competitions and the exploitation of broadcasting rights by UEFA and FIFA have this status, from a position of dominance or even "monopoly". In this context, it declares that competition law is applicable to the rules of these associations regarding prior authorisation of other competitions, such as the Super League.
Once this conclusion has been established, the CJEU assessed different aspects of these rules and concluded that they would only comply with competition law if they adhere to criteria of transparency, objectivity, non-discrimination, and proportionality. Otherwise, it should be considered that there is an abuse of a dominant position. Likewise, if the mentioned requirements were not met, this would also imply a breach of the freedom to provide services. In any case, the CJEU reminds that the verification of these requirements and the decision on the case corresponds to the Spanish court.
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