Real Madrid and Barcelona hail European Super League ruling as 'great day for football'

Could an EU court ruling lead to the return of football's controversial European Super League? ITV News' Ian Woods explains what the decision could mean for the sport

Football rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona have called the EU court ruling on the European Super League (ESL) ruling as "great day for football."

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) had been asked to decide whether FIFA and UEFA acted against competition law by disallowing the creation of the ESL competition in 2021 and then seeking to sanction the clubs involved.

A release issued by the court said such rules were “contrary to competition law and the freedom to provide services”.

The court release added: “There is no framework for the FIFA and UEFA rules ensuring that they are transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate.

“Similarly, the rules giving FIFA and UEFA exclusive control over the commercial exploitation of the rights related to those competitions are such as to restrict competition, given their importance for the media, consumers and television viewers in the European Union.”

Twelve clubs - including the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’ and Spanish clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona – announced the formation of the original ESL in April 2021 but the plan quickly collapsed amid fan protests, pressure from UEFA and FIFA and even opposition from the British government.

In a statement, Real Madrid chief Florentino Perez declared his "enormous satisfaction" with the ruling and said clubs will now be "the masters of their own destiny".

Meanwhile, rival team Barcelona hailed the decision and said "the ruling opens the way to a new top-level football competition in Europe by opposing the monopoly over the football world."

In a statement the club added that the decision "wishes to initiate new discussions as to the path that European competitions should take in the future.”

Now, the ECJ appears to have given the green light to any such competition being relaunched in future.

“The court observes that the organisation of interclub football competitions and the exploitation of the media rights are, quite evidently, economic activities,” the court release continued.

“They must therefore comply with the competition rules and respect the freedoms of movement, even though the economic pursuit of sport has certain specific characteristics, such as the existence of associations having certain regulatory and control powers and the power to impose sanctions.

“The court also observes that, in parallel with those powers, FIFA and UEFA themselves organise football competitions.”

Bernd Reichart, the chief executive of Super League promoters, A22, said on X: “We have won the right to compete. The UEFA monopoly is over. Football is free. Clubs are now free from the threat of sanction and free to determine their own futures.”

In response to the ruling UEFA said it "takes note of the judgement" but that this "ruling does not signify an endorsement or validation of the so-called ‘super league’"

In a statement, it added, "it rather underscores a pre-existing shortfall within UEFA's pre-authorisation framework, a technical aspect that has already been acknowledged and addressed in June 2022.

"UEFA is confident in the robustness of its new rules, and specifically that they comply with all relevant European laws and regulations."

It continues that UEFA remains "resolute in its commitment to uphold the European football pyramid, ensuring that it continues to serve the broader interests of society."

"We will continue to shape the European sports model collectively with national associations, leagues, clubs, fans, players, coaches, EU institutions, governments and partners alike.

"We trust that the solidarity-based European football pyramid that the fans and all stakeholders have declared as their irreplaceable model will be safeguarded against the threat of breakaways by European and national laws."

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