When Florentino Perez wants something, he usually gets it. Plans for the biggest European clubs to form the European Super League faced numerous obstacle several months ago and it all came to a halt. However, it looks like the situation is slowly turning around.Out of initial ‘dirty dozen’ as the public nicknamed the forming 12 teams – only three are firmly sticking with the idea – El Clasico rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid and Italian giant Juventus.Since legal actions were taken from both sides (ESL vs UEFA), a court in Madrid has ruled that the governing body’s disciplinary proceedings against the founding 12 clubs of the proposed breakaway league must be scrapped, while the case will now be assessed by European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. Perez most probably followed the ruling with a grin on his face.Comunicado Oficial: Superliga— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) July 30, 2021 The shocking news of a new competition appeared on April 18, when twelve clubs announced themselves as founder members of the Super League, but the creation of it collapsed within 72 hours.Nine clubs cut ties from the project after club supporters held heavy protests, followed by severe negation from UEFA, FIFA and domestic league executives. Criticism even came from the British Government and Royal Family.Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan and AC Milan were each handed an approximate fine of 10 million USD by UEFA and fined five per cent of their prize money.##EDITORS_CHOICE##Luckily for the participating clubs, a court in Spain has ruled those penalties must be removed while ongoing disciplinary proceedings against Barca, Juve and Madrid must also be terminated.With those three clubs vowing to plough on and end UEFA’s ‘monopolistic position’, it is a potentially seismic decision for the future of club football in Europe. ‘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.’, a joint statement read on the websites of the clubs. ‘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.Comunicato di Barcellona, Juventus e Real Madrid➡️ https://t.co/KW8brVdOXQ pic.twitter.com/rg9ELFfxAR— JuventusFC (@juventusfc) July 30, 2021 ‘The case will be assessed by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, which shall review UEFA’s monopolistic position over European football.’We have the duty to address the very serious issues facing football: UEFA has established itself as the sole regulator, exclusive operator, and unique owner of rights of European football competitions.’This monopolistic position, in conflict of interest, is damaging football and its competitive balance.’As shown by ample evidence, financial controls are inadequate, and they have been improperly enforced. Clubs participating in European competitions have the right to govern their own competitions.[PRESS RELEASE]ℹ Statement on the European Super League🔗 MORE INFO 👇https://t.co/IoL5YqzIqd— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 30, 2021 ‘We are pleased that going forward we will no longer be subject to ongoing UEFA’s threats. 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.’UEFA did not make comment on the court ruling yet. UEFA main man Aleksander Ceferin is strongly against the new competition and is fully investing himself in preventing it from happening – hence, we can soon expect the reaction from European main football governing body.
