FIFA and UEFA rules under which any new competition is subject to prior approval are compatible with EU competition law because of the specific nature of the European sports model, said lawyer Athanasios Rantos in his opinion of Thursday 15 December (Case C-333/21).
Formed by prestigious English, Spanish and Italian football clubs, the Spanish company European Super League Company (ESLC) believes that the behaviour of FIFA and UEFA is incompatible with European Union competition law and the fundamental freedoms of the European treaties. Professional football’s governing bodies at the international and European levels have warned against its plans to organise a closed European competition. FIFA and UEFA have also warned that any player or club participating in the new competition would be expelled from the competitions they organise.
In his introductory remarks, the Advocate General notes that Article 165 TFEU recognises the European sports model. This article emphasises the social dimension of this economic activity, so that the social and educational nature of sport may be relevant to justify possible restrictions on competition or fundamental freedoms.
One of the characteristics of this model is its pyramid structure, with amateur sport at the bottom and professional sport at the top, and the promotion of open competitions, accessible to all through a transparent system where promotion and relegation are based on sporting merit.
The Advocate General is of the opinion that the non-recognition by FIFA and UEFA of an essentially closed competition such as the ESL could be considered to be in line with the pursuit of certain legitimate objectives, in that it aims to respect the principles of participation based on sporting results, equality of opportunity and solidarity, on which the pyramid structure of European football is founded.
In view of its dominant position as the sole organiser of all major interclub football competitions at European level, UEFA’s ‘special responsibility’ under Article 102 TFEU lies precisely in the fact that it is obliged to ensure, when considering applications for the authorisation of a new competition, that third parties are not unduly deprived of market access.
According to the Advocate General, the rules at issue in the main proceedings, under which the creation of a pan-European football competition between clubs is subject to a prior approval scheme, are liable to restrict fundamental economic freedoms. However, such restrictions can be justified by legitimate objectives linked to the specific nature of sport.
See the opinion of the Advocate General: https://aeur.eu/f/4pj (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)