JAKARTA – UEFA welcomes EU parliamentary resolutions against “separate competitions” such as the European Super League but European Super League supporters call on the European Union to ensure “fair and open competition”.
Twelve of Europe’s leading clubs announced in April their intention to create a new Super League separate from the already established UEFA Champions League.
After being opposed by the football community and supporters as well as various governments, the proposal failed miserably in which six English clubs plus Inter Milan, AC Milan and Atletico Madrid withdrew.
Two Spanish clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona as well as Italian team Juventus were unwilling to pursue the idea, and the process continued in Madrid’s courts, thus preventing UEFA from punishing the breakaway clubs.
In May, the court asked the European Court of Justice to decide whether FIFA and UEFA violated European Union competition laws by blocking clubs from creating new leagues.
The resolution passed by the European parliament, with 597 votes in favor against 36 against and 55 abstentions, calls for a “European competition model” with a “strong commitment to integrating the principles of solidarity, sustainability, inclusiveness for all, open competition, sporting achievement and fairness.”
The non-binding resolution, which will be forwarded to the Council of Europe and the European Commission along with various governments, said parliament “strongly opposes breakaway competition which undermines these principles and jeopardizes the stability of the entire sporting ecosystem.”
Polish EU lawmaker Tomasz Frankowski, who is also a former national team player, asked the EU Commission to appoint a separate coordinator for sport and said his priority was “promoting the European sports model and protecting it from threats such as the Super League.”
But Anas Laghrari and John Hahn of Real Madrid-backed A22 Sports Management SL said the European Super League plan was not against the values supported by parliament.
They called for a focus on EU competition laws and considered UEFA to have established itself as a monopoly operator.
“We believe there is one major issue that has not been addressed and that is the need for all sporting bodies to adhere to the core values and legal framework of the European Union,” they said.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said his side would work with the EU to “protect” European football.
“The message of the European Parliament on behalf of the citizens of the European Union is clear: Europe and Europe are fundamentally opposed to secessionist projects such as the European Super League that threaten European sporting values,” he said.
“European football is not a market meant only to serve elite interests and financial gain, European football is a European success story in serving all of society. We will continue to work with the EU to strengthen and protect the European sporting model in European football.”
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