European football is sailing in troubled waters. The leaders of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) are facing their biggest nightmare: competition fomented by twelve of the biggest continental clubs. They are three Spaniards (Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Atlético Madrid), six English (Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham) and three Italians (Juventus Turin, AC Milan and Inter Milan) eager to create a competition of a new kind, between themselves and for their benefit, far from sporting uncertainty and the original idea of the European Cup, already undermined since the 1990s by the successive reforms of the Champions League.
However, many questions still surround this project.
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Why do these twelve clubs want to secede?
The founders of the Superleague want to win more. More money. More than the 2 billion euros distributed per season within the framework of the Champions League. Their press release claims the support of US investment bank JP Morgan. They expect a first payment of 3.5 billion euros. Before hoping to eventually reach 10 billion euros in revenue, thanks to the television bonanza. But without specifying from what season, and in what time frame.
For the clubs concerned, the interest of such a competition lies above all in the annihilation of what is still the essence of football in Europe: sporting uncertainty. As the project is designed, the vast majority of participants (fifteen out of twenty) would be assured of participating, season after season, regardless of their performance in their respective national championships.
What response does UEFA, the European football authority, envision?
If the shadow of this “closed league” hovered for years over the Champions League, it suddenly took shape overnight, through a statement released after zero hours Monday, April 19. On the UEFA side, the announcement was taken for what it is: a declaration of war. Its president, Slovenian Aleksander Ceferin, organized the first, fierce counterattack at a press conference on Monday. “This project is spitting in the face of football lovers”, he said, before launching: “These clubs are not interested in the number of goals, but in the figures entered in their bank accounts. If you respect your fans, stop! “
Sense of timing, the continental body was preparing to adopt its new reform project of the Champions League. Which she did a few hours after the start of hostilities. This concession more to the appetite of the powerful had yet been negotiated, until very recently, with the presidents of several secessionist clubs: the Turinese Andrea Agnelli, the Madrilenian Florentino Perez or the Mancunian Bob Woodward.
“We were perhaps naive to warm a snake in our bosom”, admitted Aleksander Ceferin. This does not prevent the former criminal lawyer from finding his teeth when it comes to defending his home: “We will make the new formula [de la Ligue des champions] with or without these clubs. My opinion is that they should be banned as quickly as possible from all competitions. “
Will players be deprived of Euro or World Cup?
This is the big red button that Aleksander Ceferin says he is able to press. “The players who will play in the Superleague will not be able to play the World Cup and the Euro”, warns the UEFA president.
This threat could spark a legal battle. In December 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled “Disproportionate” the decision of the International Skating Union (ISU) to deprive, among other sanctions, of the Olympic Games Dutch speed skaters ready to compete in a private competition (Icederby).
Should this be seen as a case law? “The situation is not comparable; the Superleague risks competing with the UEFA competitions, which Icerberdy did not do with the ISU ”, warns Antoine Duval. This specialist in European sports law at the Asser Institute in The Hague (Netherlands) is familiar with the case for having represented the concerned skaters. “One could infer from this precedent that there is a problem with the calendar and that UEFA has a legitimate interest in acting. The real question is what kind of action is proportionate. “
To avoid being the victim of judicial time ever slower than sports time, the lawyer mentions the possibility “An injunction from a national court at the request of a club in the Superleague to block the sanctions taken by UEFA”, which he doubts the will to take action from the Euro in June. “The two clans are going to look at each other in faience and start to put their legal pawns”, he assures. However, the greatest vagueness remains for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Why haven’t PSG and Bayern Munich joined the twelve?
Recent opponents in the Champions League, PSG and Bayern remain in the camp of UEFA. For the moment. Munich President Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said on his club’s official website to welcome “With a lot of enthusiasm the reform of the Champions League”. Should we see a facade legitimism – it conceded at the beginning of the year on a daily basis Bild “To have had exchanges” on this file – or the fear of weakening a German championship, which has never been so radiant? Another German club, Borussia Dortmund, declined the invitation, while RB Leipzig also closed the door.
Nasser Al-Khelaïfi has not yet reacted on his side. Associated with the discussions with the secessionists, the president of PSG had distanced himself recently. A choice that can be explained by its multiple caps. “NAK” also runs BeIN Media Group, the Qatari Champions League broadcaster in several countries.
With less than two years before the World Cup organized on its territory, Qatar – where Nasser Al-Khelaïfi takes his orders – would do without a conflict with UEFA and with the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), while hoping that its Parisian showcase will continue to face the greats of Europe. Faced with this dilemma, PSG should initially stay on the lookout and observe which way the tide of history will turn.
How will this new competition be funded?
It is the sinews of this coming war. The possible windfall that a closed league could generate has pushed clubs to take the plunge. According to a working document circulating since the beginning of the year, each club could receive 350 million euros, simply for taking part in the competition. This initial investment is provided by the bank JP Morgan, which confirmed on Monday that it would finance the project.
The Superligue aims above all for a notable increase in television rights, hoping to attract broadcasters by the quality of its posters. But none have yet attached their name to the project. Because the subject is sensitive: this new competition could upset the balance of television rights everywhere in the world.
“With the Covid-19, each broadcaster obtained a discount because of postponements or the absence of fans, blows a close to the television rights negotiations. Imagine what it will be like if this Superleague happens: it will completely change the product you bought. Every broadcaster, worldwide, will have the right to renegotiate all their contracts with all the leagues. “
If this revolution were to be televised, several competitions – such as the French championship – could suffer the consequences.
