Tsunami or wave? It will be up to time to place this volcanic December 21 in the great history of football. To situate the thing, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) decided to cite the Bosman judgment in the introduction to the summary of its decision in the Super League (SL) / UEFA case. The latter, highly anticipated, judges the rules opposed in 2021 by FIFA and UEFA to a proposed dissident league to be contrary to European competition law. News received with enthusiasm by A 22: the promoter of the SL spreads the networks with beautiful formulas like “football is FREE”, “the UEFA monopoly is over”, “we will broadcast matches for free”, etc. Conversely, the body chaired by Aleksander Ceferin was initially designated as the big loser of the battle, with some already anticipating the end of the Champions League in favor of the cup for Florentino Pérez. The reality is much more nuanced, less Manichean.
1) By its decision, does the CJEU give the green light to the Super League?
Answer: NO. The CJEU did not take sides for or against UEFA, for or against the SL. What Aleksander Ceferin did not fail to point out at a press conference at the start of the afternoon. A point confirmed by Nicolas Sfez, associate lawyer at the Spring Legal firm. “The CJEU made it clear in its decision that it was not ruling on the legality of the Super League. The answer that was given concerns the question of whether UEFA and FIFA have the rights to restrict access to competitions. This is a very educational decision. She doesn’t say the conclusion but how to think about it. » It’s up to the Spanish commercial court to decide.
Ditto for the monopoly of the European body. Contrary to what A 22 may have said, the court considers UEFA’s dominant position compatible with European law. Its rules in force in 2021, however, were deemed to be contrary to this same European law. Ceferin reminds in this respect that the “validation system [de l’UEFA] was imperfect, and for that, we made changes, which resulted in 2022.” An observer close to European football authorities contacted by 20 minutes However, considers these recent statuses still fragile: “their criteria are not yet sufficient to completely protect themselves from a Super League”.
2) Will we see a Super League emerge tomorrow?
Answer: A PRIORI, NO. For a simple and good reason: certainly, the promoters of the competition hastened to hold a press conference in the wake of the CJEU’s decision to declare victory and present the new format of the aborted 2021 project. was more about riding the “liberated, delivered” wave than proposing something concrete, although a model was submitted (see below). The best example? Of the 64 promised clubs, only two are known at the moment: Real Madrid and FC Barcelona (post-Agnelli Juventus withdrew). This point was also the subject of mockery on the part of Aleksander Ceferin. “They can create their magnificent competition with two clubs, I hope they know what they are doing, but I am not sure. »
3) Is this new Super League more open than the first?
YES, BUT… Relieved of a weight, the promoters of the SL presented their new format of 64 clubs divided into three divisions and responding to the logic of a “football pyramid” with an enlarged base and a… sharp elite.
The first two leagues, the Star League and the Gold League, consist of 16 clubs each, while the third, the Blue League, comprises 32 clubs. The top eight teams from these leagues then face each other in the quarter-finals. Semi-finals and a final follow. The promotion and relegation system, supposed to illustrate the opening of a model initially thought up by 15 founding members with only five places open to the playoffs, however remains very vague: the last two of each league will be relegated, except at the bottom of the league. pyramid, where A22 mentions a rotation of 20 teams will take place each season. New entrants will be elected on the basis of results in their national championships, of which the Super League proclaims itself benefactor and not gravedigger.
“Each championship will continue to be the initial entry point for the European level,” they promise. But clubs will have a clear path to establish themselves at European level based on their European performance. National leagues will also benefit from the attention these clubs will attract. » The famous trickle-down theory which has proven itself so well in the real world.
4) Do we really believe this story of free matches?
BOF. We would like to let ourselves be lulled by the candor of the speech of the CEO of A22, Bernd Reichart, anxious to snatch football from the hands of the evil broadcasters to give it back for free to the kind fan. Concretely, the Super League would be broadcast on a streaming platform, Unify, halfway between Facebook and Netflix. But how can we generate more money while saving the consumer? “Unify will generate revenue through advertising, premium subscriptions [donc pas gratuits], distribution partnerships and interactive services. The company promoting the dissident league also indicates that to ensure “the stability of the initial phase of the competitions and the transition from subscription to a platform activity, we will guarantee revenues with European and American investors for a higher amount to that currently planned for the next cycle. » Without however giving precise figures or the nature of these investors.
For communication, it’s flawless, according to our source close to UEFA. “It was well done by A22. They clearly identified what football fans don’t like in the current model, and that UEFA was open to attack on this front. But this model remains hardly credible. » Aleksander Ceferin observes all this with disdain. “The presentation of A 22, I have difficulty knowing whether it should shock us or amuse us. »
5) Is UEFA weakened?
NO. Since today everything was a matter of appearances, the European body brought together the Avengers to participate in a videoconference, from which we will remember Javier Tebas’ microphone problems and Nasser Al-Khelaïfi’s passion for Norman wardrobes. All these beautiful people, to whom we can add the representatives of the European leagues, the professional players’ union (Fifpro) and even European supporters (FSE), were united around the godfather Ceferin and the same slogan. “Earning it on the pitch. » “We don’t need to threaten anyone,” says Al-Khelaïfi in his capacity as president of the ECA. Let them go and compete in their own way. But today the best club competition is the Champions League. Just the music is an event. » Behind the scenes, it is rumored that the confidence displayed by UEFA comes from across the Channel: the English Government has in fact already promised on numerous occasions that it would prevent its clubs from participating in competitions like the SL. And a tournament without the English is in itself a huge blow.