Advocate General delivers his Opinion in the European Superleague Company case

Opinion of the Advocate General in the case C-333/21 European Superleague Company

Date of the decision: 2022-12-15

On Thursday 15 December 2022, Advocate General Athanasios Rantos delivered his Opinion in the European Superleague Company case. In summary, he considers that the FIFA and UEFA rules requiring prior authorisation for new competitions are compatible with EU competition law.

On 11 and 12 July, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) heard - in a Grand Chamber (15 judges) - representatives of the various parties involved in the high-profile European Superleague Company case. As expected, five months later, the Advocate General's conclusions have just been delivered. FIFA and UEFA can rest easy, but nothing is certain. Indeed, these conclusions are not binding on the Court. The Court should render its decision at the beginning of 2023. Here is a look at this first important step.

Reminder of the context

As a preliminary point, it should be noted that FIFA and UEFA are both entities under Swiss private law, which are respectively the world governing body for football, whose main objectives are to promote football and organise its own international competitions, and the football's governing body at the European level. According to their statutes, FIFA and UEFA hold a...

Why not join us?

Football Legal is an independent media publishing football law contents on a daily basis dedicated to all football law practitioners (lawyers, clubs, federations, intermediaries, football stakeholders, etc.).

Get started