Victory for the Super League, at least partial. The FIFA and UEFA rules that make any project for a new club football competition, such as the Super League itself, subject to prior authorization and that prohibit clubs and players from participating in it under penalty of sanctions, are illegal.. This was ruled this Thursday by the Court of Justice of the EU after a long evaluation of the case, after a Madrid Commercial Court referred a question to Luxembourg to know if the decisions of both private entities were in line with the principles community legal regulations.

Both associations abuse their dominant position and impose arbitrary criteria, according to the ruling published today. The European magistrates, however, do not enter into the specific case of the Super League. “A competition like that of the Super League project should not necessarily be authorized. Having been asked questions of a general nature about the rules of FIFA and UEFA, the Court of Justice does not rule, in its ruling, on this specific project,” the document says.

The ruling is very harsh on the powers and prerogative of the two great bodies of world football. “The powers of FIFA and UEFA are not subject to any criteria that guarantee their transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate nature.”. Likewise, the rules that give FIFA and UEFA exclusive control over the commercial exploitation of the rights derived from these competitions may restrict competition, taking into account the importance that the latter have for the media, consumers and the public. viewers,” says the statement made public today by the High Court.

With its decision, the High Court ignores and refutes the arguments of the U's general counsel, who a year ago argued that the clubs have complete freedom to create their own competition outside the UEFA and FIFA ecosystem, but that they cannot continue. participating in the usual competitions without the prior authorization of those federations.

The Madrid court that started the process had serious doubts about the powers of FIFA and UEFA given that both have a monopoly position in their market.. The Court of Justice considers this Thursday in its ruling that the organization of club football competitions and the exploitation of broadcasting rights are, clearly, economic activities. Consequently, “these activities must respect the rules on competition and freedom of movement, despite the fact that sport, as an economic activity, presents certain specific characteristics, such as the existence of associations endowed with regulatory, control and sanctioning powers. “. The Court of Justice also notes that, in addition to having these powers, FIFA and UEFA themselves organize football competitions.

The magistrates consider that when a company in a dominant position has the power to determine under what conditions potentially competing companies can enter the market, this power “must be accompanied by criteria that guarantee its transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate nature.” and yet, it considers that “the powers of FIFA and UEFA are not subject to any criteria of this nature” so the only thing left to do is determine that both associations “are abusing their dominant position” and their authorization rules, of control and sanctions, “given their arbitrary nature, they must be classified as an unjustified restriction on the free provision of services.”

No decision on the Super League

That said, however, the CJEU clarifies an important point: “a competition like the Super League must not necessarily be authorized”. Maybe yes or maybe not, but “having been asked general questions about the rules of FIFA and UEFA, the Court of Justice does not rule, in its ruling, on this specific project.”

What the Court of Justice does do is emphasize that the rules of FIFA and UEFA relating to the exploitation of broadcasting rights “can harm European football clubs, all the companies operating in the markets of the broadcast media and, finally, to consumers and television viewers, by preventing them from benefiting from new potentially innovative or interesting competitions”. But with that interpretation, that analysis and those clues, it is now up to the Commercial Court No. 17 of Madrid to verify whether these rules can, nevertheless, benefit the different interest groups of football, for example, through a solidarity redistribution of the income generated by these rights.

The Court of Justice of the European Union has declared today that UEFA and FIFA have maintained a position of “dominant abuse of power” by not allowing the creation of the Super League, a reflection that gives freedom to the project led by Real Madrid and FC Barcelona to build the tournament in the future. Bernd Reichart, CEO of A22, the company that manages the project, assures that “we have won the right to compete. UEFA's monopoly is over. “Football is free”.

The head of the Super League has also announced that “we are going to broadcast all Super League matches for free and the clubs' income and payments in solidarity with football are guaranteed.”

LaLiga, for its part, opposed to Madrid and the Super League since the beginning of the project, has stated that it is a “selfish and elitist model.”. “Any format that is not totally open, with direct access, year after year, via domestic leagues, is a closed model,” adds Javier Tebas' organization.

The president of LaLiga has focused on one of the statements of the ruling: “However, a competition like that of the Super League project should not necessarily be authorized. Having been asked questions of a general nature about the rules of FIFA and UEFA, the Court of Justice does not rule, in its ruling, on this specific project,” says the CJEU.

“Penultimate paragraph of the CJEU press release, to avoid doubts and misrepresentations that have already started by portaCOCES and influential cronies,” criticizes Tebas..

The Super League already has the sentence it needed. The High Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has declared that UEFA and FIFA have committed “an abuse of dominant power” by trying to sanction the teams that wanted to create the competition. This is the chronology of five years of war in European football.

November 2018

In November 2018, Football Leaks reveals that there are secret talks about the creation of a new football competition called the 'European Super League', which could begin in 2021.

October 2020

Josep Maria Bartomeu, president of Barcelona, admits in his resignation from office that the board of directors of the Catalan club has accepted “the invitation to a European Super League” promoted by “the great clubs of Europe.”

January 21, 2021

FIFA makes a statement together with the representatives of its different Confederations rejecting the formation of the Super League and ensuring that the clubs or players involved will be sanctioned.

April 18, 2021

Twelve clubs announce the creation of the Super League. There are three Spaniards (Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid), three Italians (Juventus, AC Milan and Inter) and six English (Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea). Among the great teams on the continent, only Bayern Munich and PSG refuse to enter it.

The format foresees up to 20 participating teams: the founders, three more guests – including PSG – and five other teams that will be classified annually based on their performance.. UEFA, the federations, the English, Spanish and Italian leagues and the European Club Association (ECA) show their rejection of the project.

April 19, 2021

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin announces sanctions on the clubs involved in the creation of the Super League and the prohibition of their players from participating in UEFA competitions. All after the Executive Committee in which the expansion of the Champions League to 36 teams was approved.

For its part, the Spanish government rejects the Super League and asks the three Spanish clubs to dialogue to achieve an agreed competition.

Florentino Pérez presents the project in El Chiringuito and justifies it as a “solution to alleviate the lost income, 5,000 million due to the pandemic”, he denies that it will be closed and that it will cause the disappearance of the national leagues.

April 20, 2021

The Commercial Court 17 of Madrid receives a complaint from the Superliga -A22 Sports Management SL. and European Super League Company SL – and grants the very precautionary measures requested to prevent any measure that prevents its implementation and sanctions to the clubs.

The six English clubs abandon the project.

Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, rejects the project and assures that UEFA and FIFA are democratic and open organizations.

The president of the IOC, Thomas Bach, points out that the European model based on solidarity is greatly threatened by those who put “the focus on economic benefit.”

April 21, 2021

Atlético de Madrid and the three Italian clubs give up the project.

April 23, 2021

The American bank JP Morgan, which was going to finance the Super League, acknowledges that it “misjudged” the impact that the birth of the new competition would have throughout the world, for which it was going to make a loan of 3,983 million euros.

May 7, 2021

UEFA approves reintegration measures for the clubs that gave up, after recognizing that the project was a mistake.

May 12, 2021

The head of the Commercial Court 17 of Madrid, Manuel Ruiz de Lara, submits a preliminary ruling to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to determine whether there is abuse of dominant position by UEFA and FIFA according to community regulations, specifically articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), by preventing the organization of other competitions outside its scope.

May 25, 2021

UEFA opens disciplinary proceedings against Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus. The three clubs reject this measure the next day and consider that UEFA has committed “a flagrant breach” of the precautionary measures ordered by the court.

July 1, 2021

The Commercial Court number 17 of Madrid orders UEFA to archive the disciplinary procedures and to annul the “disguised sanctions” to the other nine clubs that renounced the project.

July 16, 2021

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) refuses to analyze the case through an accelerated procedure.

April 12, 2022

The Commercial Court number 17 of Madrid sets the date of June 14 for the pre-trial hearing of the trial and declares FIFA in a situation of procedural default, for not having appeared as a co-defendant within the deadline to answer the lawsuit.

April 21, 2022

The Provincial Court of Madrid upholds UEFA's appeal and lifts the precautionary measures that prevented its imposition of sanctions on the clubs.

June 3, 2022

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) announces that the hearing of the case will be held on July 11 and 12.

July 2022

One of the three resisters, Juventus, also ends up withdrawing from the project just six months after losing its president Andrea Agnelli, removed from office due to management irregularities.

December 15, 2022

The Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) released his conclusions. According to the jurist, FIFA and UEFA did not abuse their dominant position in European football competitions by blocking the creation of the Super League with the threat of sanctions.. “The FIFA and UEFA rules that make the creation of any new competition subject to prior authorization are compatible with Union competition law,” he says.

January 30, 2023

The Provincial Court of Madrid issues an order revoking the judge's order and restoring the precautionary measures adopted in April 2021 by the previous judge.

February 9, 2023

A22 publishes the decalogue of the Super League. “The conclusions point to an open European football league, where there are no permanent members, based solely on sporting merit, with several divisions, between 60 and 80 participating clubs and a minimum of 14 guaranteed European matches per club.”

December 21, 2023

Victory for the Super League in the CJEU, which declares that there is “abuse of dominant power” by UEFA and FIFA.

Barça flirted with disaster again, with two new defensive mistakes that once again cost them two goals against. The defensive fragility, however, was able to compensate on this occasion with greater effectiveness in attack. Raphinha and Sergi Roberto, author of two goals, the first of which was not without controversy due to the corner that would be his prelude, were in charge of converting the goals scored by Leo Baptistao and Edgar into something much less anecdotal than they would have liked.. The triumph, at least, this time did not slip through his fingers. [3-2: Narration and statistics]

Things were not flattering for Barça in the first 45 minutes. It was difficult for the Blaugrana to generate dangerous chances in the rival area and they went into the break with just three clear opportunities.. Raphinha, however, taking advantage of a rebound from Maximiano, the best of the visitors, after a good header from Araujo, smashed the ball furiously into the back of the net to make it 1-0 in the bright. The Brazilian even seemed to make ugly in his celebration the whistles with which the Barcelona fans had shown their disagreement due to a very thick game again.. That, from the center of the field up. At the back, although Christensen initially seemed to provide a little more solidity, there were, once again, those mistakes that have usually cost terribly dear.

So it was. On this occasion, quite possibly from the person Barça fans would have least imagined: Araujo.. An attempted rebound by the Uruguayan would end up being collected by Baptistao to score the tie, initially annulled for offside by Cuadra Fernández but finally validated by the VAR. It was of no use to the centre-back to complain that his clearance was a consequence of the Brazilian's initial advanced position.. The 1-1 score at half-time even seemed like a fair punishment for a team against which Almería, already hopeless, even allowed themselves the luxury of having a long and unusually comfortable offensive possession, taking into account their circumstances. .

Substitution of Joao Félix

The Barça image improved a lot after the break. With Ferran Torres taking over from Joao Félix at the top, Xavi's men started the second half with three good goal opportunities, coming from the boots of both the former City player and a Lewandowski who began to look for the shot with great insistence, forcing a and again to the brilliance of the visiting goal. Nothing could do, however, at 2-1. Sergi Roberto, with a very good header after a corner kick awarded by the referee despite the fact that Balde was apparently the last to touch the ball, put the ball as far as possible from the goal. The goal contributed a lot to Xavi's men once again showing their best in attack.

Sergi Roberto celebrates his second goal. Alejandro Garcia EFE

Another defensive error, with a misunderstanding between Iñaki Peña and Araujo in a ball thrown by Almería into the area, despite everything, would lead to a new tie for Almería. Edgar, taking advantage of the fact that the ball fell dead at his feet, made it 2-2 and forced Barça to swim against the current again.. The sword of Damocles floated above his head again. Until Sergi Roberto, again, taking advantage of a good assist from Lewandowski, scored 3-2. And, when the duel died down, Iñaki Peña was also able to make up for it with a great save from Baba's shot to ensure that the three points remained at home again.

On August 5, Ricky Rubio said enough. The point guard left the Spanish team's concentration in Madrid by surprise and confirmed his absence from the World Cup: “I have decided to stop my professional activity to take care of my mental health”. Since then, little is known about the El Masnou player, who did not start the NBA season with the Cavaliers either, who, however, respected his contract and supported him with his problems.

But now the plague of injuries in the Ohio franchise has precipitated events. Among other things, according to The Athletic from League sources, because there are “serious doubts” that Ricky will ever play basketball professionally again.. And in no case would it be this season when the Spaniard returned. That is why the Cavs are negotiating with him a buyout or termination agreement for his contract, which this season amounts to 6.1 million dollars (and 4.25 million guaranteed for next season).. A possible transfer of the former Penya youth player is also being considered.

J's team. B. Bickerstaff has lost two of his references on the perimeter due to injury. Their starting point guard, Darius Garland, due to a broken jaw, Ty Jerome and forward Evan Mobley (knee surgery) have left a hole in the direction of the Cavaliers, who, desperate, are looking for loopholes to be able to strengthen themselves by first relieving their mass wage.

And for that, they negotiate with Ricky, always with total respect for his figure and personal circumstances.. Already at the beginning of the course they gave him permission to stay in Barcelona and all their support when he decided not to show up at the training campus: “We continue to fully support Ricky and his efforts. For now, it is better that he continues outside the team and we have excused his absence. “We continue to communicate and consult periodically with him and we will continue to help him in any way possible.”. Because the Spaniard is a reference in the Cavaliers, where he ended up after a back-and-forth of transfers and where he played at his highest level as a veteran leader of a thriving project, until on December 28, 2021, he tore the ligaments in his knee again. left. Traded to the Pacers and renewed free in the summer of 2022 ($18 million for three seasons), he returned in January 2023 and managed to play 36 games, the last one on April 23 during the playoffs against the Knicks.

Belgrade is the White City and as if honoring the name of the Serbian capital, Real Madrid maintains its wonderful love affair with the place where it won the tenth. There he also starred last year in a historic comeback in the series against Partizan, after the brawl on WiZink. There he devastated the Maccabi exile a few days ago; almost like this Tuesday of the Euroleague double day in his visit to Red Star, which he left with a meager 58 points. [58-72: Narration and statistics]

It is the 70th victory of a 2023 to remember, which however woke up with defeat against Barça, although later it has only collected 17 more. It is the 14th victory in 15 games of the current Euroleague that it dominates with surprising forcefulness, only Fenerbahce was able to surprise Chus Mateo's men. At the Stark Arena, in a collective recital in which a confident Mario Hezonja stood out with 17 points and 10 rebounds, Red Star also succumbed to Madrid's strengths without complaining too much.

This Madrid wins by pure inertia, by pure competitive ambition, no laziness, whether in a setting as rough as the Stark Arena or if several of its most important pieces are missing. Red Star matured slowly, despite the absences of Gaby Deck and Rudy Fernández (who join Yabusele). He let him grow at the beginning, spurred on by his ardent audience; It was nothing more than a ploy to make him fall into its spider web, into that muteness that lowers the rival's heart rate.. From 11-3 at the start, with former Hanga (returning after eight games) as the protagonist, to 34-45 at half-time. Knockout.

Ndiaye was brave from the start, taking that inevitable offensive step that his progression requires: they let him shoot and he nailed two triples. But it was the movement of the bench that led to a relentless comeback. In the magical duel, Sergio Rodríguez vs Teodosic, two of the most talented point guards in recent decades in Europe, the Tenerife native found better connections. Especially in Poirier, 12 points in a second act to silence Belgrade, with six assists from Chacho, who also contributed two triples in a row and Real Madrid found themselves up 12 at one point.

Sfairopoulos' men advanced aimlessly, completely anesthetized by a rival who neither forgives nor relents. The second half was one of total control by Madrid, supported by their defense, the Tavares wall, and Hezonja's flashes, so that their advantage was not jeopardized: they led by 18 and only conceded 11 in the third quarter. Neither Dzanan Musa's gray night (his first triple came after six attempts) changed the plan nor the team's solidity.

It took almost four minutes to premiere in the final act, but neither did that wake up the stands or the rival.. Hezonja sentenced the promising Hugo González and had minutes, just a couple of days after leading the Madrid junior to victory in the prestigious L'Hospitalet tournament.