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Extended Clip - Is The European Super League Dead: Is Juventus, Barcelona And Real Madrid Project Over?
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What does the EU's Advocate General's non-binding ruling mean for the future of the European Super League? Does it spell the end for Juventus, Real Madrid and Barcelona's efforts to revive the project? Nima Tavallaey and Carlo Garganese discuss.
This is an extended clip from this week's Thursday episode of The Italian Football Podcast which is only available for patrons on Patreon.com/TIFP
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Transcript
Podcast Introduction and Expert Insight
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to the Italian football podcast. Super League. We're going to do a little Super League update. We know NIMA is very big on the Super League in terms of knowing what's going on. So today we've had an update. It's been reported as this. I'm just going to read out the report. This is from football transfers.
European Super League's Legal Challenge
00:00:22
Speaker
The European Super League has suffered a damaging loss at the European Court of Justice.
00:00:26
Speaker
throwing the project, which has been headed by Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus into jeopardy. In the case, the Advocate General of the court ruled that UEFA is not in breach of European competition rules. It is not a final judgement. The Advocate General has simply advised the European court in the performance of his duties.
00:00:47
Speaker
However, it is a strong indication that the final ruling, which is due in March 2023, will not be in favour of the breakaway. In an official statement, the Advocate General writes, whilst the ESLC, which is the European Super League company, is free to set up its own independent football league outside of UEFA and FIFA's ecosystem, it cannot continue to participate in the football competitions organised by FIFA and UEFA without the prior consent of
Sanctions and Federation Goals
00:01:12
Speaker
those
00:01:12
Speaker
federations. The Advocate General adds, among other things, that the rules of UEFA and FIFA are not in conflict with EU competition rules. International associations like member for the federations of their national leagues are also free to threaten sanctions if clubs enter a new league that undermines the goals of the federations of which they are members. That seems quite open-ended, that last bit. But anyway, what do you make of this?
00:01:40
Speaker
Um, I think that this is really, I mean, first of all, let's be, it's, it's a non-binding opinion. It's a ruling based like a pre ruling, if you will, by the attorney general giving his opinion and it's non-binding on the matter. The ruling itself is expected in March, 2023. Now, what it also says is, um,
00:02:04
Speaker
is that it basically says that in his opinion, in his initial opinion, the Attorney General hasn't been ruled on by the courts, by the judges yet,
Future of the European Super League
00:02:14
Speaker
but in his initial opinion, he thinks that it doesn't violate the EU law, it doesn't violate EU's anti-competition law for FIFA and UEFA to regulate their own federations kind of thing.
00:02:29
Speaker
But it also says that if the European Super League clubs wish to break away, they can. No one's stopping them. However, it also says that the sanctions that they might suffer
00:02:44
Speaker
They have to know beforehand, they have to be proportionate, they have to be all of these things. But they're opening the door to that. That's a really interesting thing that they're saying because the European Super League Club, something that's been lost in all of this, is that the European Super League Clubs have wanted all along that UEFA be the admins of the new European Super League. I think that's going to die.
00:03:11
Speaker
that vision is not going to happen because UEFA aren't going to budge. And the question is, what does FIFA do? That's the main thing here because FIFA, UEFA is the Confederation, but it's a member of FIFA. Can the European Super League deal with FIFA here? Can they? And we know that Infantino has been open to this in the past because UEFA is getting very powerful and FIFA doesn't like having its authority questioned and also
00:03:42
Speaker
you know, what happens? Do they, you know, what actually happens in March?
Ongoing Debates and Potential Changes
00:03:47
Speaker
How does the, you know, the ruling, how does it read like? Did they say that they can break away, but then you're far allowed to punish them, but they have to make the pun? I mean, all of these, there's a lot of unknowns here, but for me, I'm not surprised at all. I saw a lot of people saying this is a heavy blow for the European Super League. I don't think it's a heavy blow at all. It was a completely expected
00:04:06
Speaker
ruling, initial ruling from the Attorney General saying what he believes, how the law should be interpreted. And I think even the most, even the dumbest worst EU law, first year law student could have told you that, because that's how it works.
00:04:22
Speaker
they basically just reiterated how everyone know that EU competition law works. I think the fact that the European Super League clubs were hoping for UEFA to make amends with UEFA was just so naive. It was never going to happen. I mean, it makes no sense. Why would, you know, you're part of a club, but you don't want to be a part of that club? Well, you have to make up your mind. Either you're part of the club or you're not part of the club.
00:04:51
Speaker
And that's the decision they have to make. I think they have to make up their minds here, and I think they know that. And I think once the ruling is issued, then I think the European Super League clubs will say, look, we tried to stay in UEFA, but now we're going to try to communicate and
00:05:15
Speaker
work out a deal with them. I mean, if this is the ruling that actually comes in March, which could not, you know, there is a big chance that there is still a chance that there could be a different ruling. I mean, the attorney general is not the judge's, that's just his illegal opinion, and you can have different legal opinions. This happens all the time in the legal community. If this is the final ruling, then I think they will have to face the fact that they might, they just have to break away. It's as simple as that.