The European Court of Justice has found that FIFA and Uefa regulations prohibiting clubs from participating in breakaway competitions such as the European Super League are illegal.
The ESL and its supporters, A22, had argued that by threatening to punish clubs and players who joined the breakaway league, Uefa and Fifa were violating competition law.
The highest court in Europe ruled against the regulating organizations on Thursday.
Background
News of 12 teams, including English teams Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Tottenham, signing up for the breakaway competition broke in April 2021, sparking the start of the ESL dispute.
The proposals collapsed within 72 hours due to significant criticism from fans, other European leagues, and even the government.
Uefa penalized the six Premier League teams in addition to Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, and AC Milan. However, legal action against Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Juventus was halted, despite Juventus’ July announcement that they intended to withdraw from the project.
