|
On Monday, UEFA said it had nullified disciplinary action
against breakaway Super League clubs Real Madrid, Barcelona and
Juventus after the Madrid court's July ruling that European
football's governing body should not sanction the rebel clubs.
UEFA had opened a probe against the three clubs but in June
suspended proceedings after being notified by Swiss authorities
of a court order from the court in Madrid obtained by the legal
entity European Super League Company SL, set up by the rebel
clubs.
That case is unlikely to lead to the immediate resurrection of
the breakaway plan, which faced strong opposition from fans,
football officials and politicians, but forces UEFA to defend
itself from charges related to competition law, which could have
an impact on any future attempts.
While UEFA says it does not recognise the jurisdiction of the
17th Mercantile Court of Madrid, that court has also asked the
European Court of Justice to consider whether UEFA breached EU
competition law by its actions in the Super League affair.
Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid are the last clubs standing
of the 12 who signed up to the breakaway project in April, only
for it to unravel when six Premier League sides plus Inter
Milan, AC Milan and Atletico Madrid withdrew.
The 17th Mercantile Court of Madrid had ordered all financial
and sporting penalties against the founding members of the Super
League be dropped.
"UEFA has today made formal submissions to the Court in Madrid
evidencing its ongoing compliance with the orders," the
organisation said in a statement on Tuesday.
"In addition, UEFA has filed a motion for the recusal of the
judge presiding over the current proceedings as it believes
there are significant irregularities in these proceedings.
"In line with Spanish law -- and in the fundamental interests of
justice -- UEFA fully expects the judge in question to
immediately stand aside pending the full and proper
consideration of this motion," UEFA added.
In May, the nine rebel clubs who had pulled out of the
breakaway, including Manchester United and Liverpool, agreed to
pay a combined 22 million pounds ($30.09 million) to UEFA as a
"gesture of goodwill".
However on Monday, UEFA said that, "in view of the pending Court
proceedings in Madrid, and to avoid any unnecessary complication
... UEFA will not request payment of any of the amounts
offered".
(Reporting by Simon Evans, Editing by Peter Rutherford)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
|
