Justice - and more particularly, Spanish justice - has stepped directly into the fray of football's European Super League. This Tuesday, a Madrid commercial court has banned FIFA, UEFA, the Spanish Liga and the football federations from taking any measure that "prohibits, restricts, limits or affects" the implementation of this competition. The court has thus accepted the urgent interim injunction requested by the Super League itself, and vetoes "any sanctioning or disciplinary measures" against the clubs that have joined (among them, Barça, Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid), as well as their players and management.
After a series of threats against the new competion had emerged over the last few hours, the company European Super League Company SL, organizer of the competition, requested the court to take extraordinary interim measures - of a type which are granted without even hearing the other party - to prevent any action against this new football competition. The court has accepted the application.
Thus, Madrid commercial court number 17 orders FIFA and UEFA to refrain from "any measure or action", and also from "any statement or communique" that prevents or hinders the preparation and implementation of the Super League while this legal procedure is being fully considered. It also expressly prohibits these football bodies from "disciplinary measures or sanctions against the clubs, management and personnel of the clubs and the players" who participate in them. And it asks them to pass this measure on to their associate members, such as the national football federations and domestic leagues. And it concludes: if, prior to this precautionary measure, actions such as those prohibited have already been carried out, those responsible will have to perform "the necessary actions to reverse them and leave them immediately without effect."
UEFA threat
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin spoke very strongly on Monday against the Super League project in his speech to the European football's body's executive committee. "Classification for European competitions must be on merit and allowing anyone to compete against anyone else. I want to show my rejection of the move that has been made. We are all against this movement," said Ceferin, who labelled the project "shameful and selfish, driven solely by greed."
And Ceferin did not stop here. He then expanded on the threat that UEFA had made public on Sunday, that of expelling players who play in the Super League from their respective national teams. "All those footballers who play in this competition, will not be able to do so with their national side. All the confederations agree on this. We will see what we can do. The legal services are already studying it," said the leader of the UEFA during the presentation of the new Champions League.
La Liga: "Secessionist and elitist"
Spain's Liga, whose management organization is led by Javier Tebas, has accused the clubs of wanting to break away in order to get even richer. "The Spanish football league strongly condemns the announced proposal to create a secessionist and elitist European competition, which attacks the principles of open competitiveness and sporting merit that occupy the most profound place in the national and European football ecosystem," began La Liga's press release, issued on Monday. "The new European competition proposal is nothing more than a selfish plan, designed to make the richest richer still," added the statement.