Lewis Crofts Profile picture
Jul 11 12 tweets 6 min read
Huge day of sport at EU’s top court. If you like football or indeed love speed skating, then I’ll be there for you.

In short, it’s about whether UEFA can block rival competitions such as the #SuperLeague Here’s what it’s about /thread
15 judges at @EUCourtPress are reviewing the fight between #ESL and @UEFA

Despite the club mutiny, ESL is still pursuing its case in Madrid court over UEFA’s rules being unfair & blocking rival competitions. A Madrid court has asked the EU court for help. /1
The main question: is @uefa a business abusing its power to run football? By threatening lifetime bans for players/clubs from the Euros or the #ChampionsLeague is it misusing that power? That would breach EU competition law. /2
Sport and competition law are an awkward couple in Europe. Usually, competition law is all powerful, but the EU treaty says sport can be different. You need leagues, clubs, grass roots, rules of the game etc, so governing bodies should have some wiggle room. /3
Governing bodies get breathing space as long as they pursue a “legitimate objective” (eg keeping the sport clean from doping), and their sanctions are proportionate and fair. UEFA thinks it does all of these things. ESL disagrees & thinks UEFA is a “monopoly”. /4
The case focuses on two UEFA powers: 1/the right to pre-authorise rival events; 2/ the right to sanction.

UEFA can have these powers but they have to be clear, balanced & proportionate.

Eg is a lifetime ban for a player fair? Would that ruin her career?/5
There are 15 judges reviewing the case today, which is rare. And loads of governments want their say as well. That’s their right in any ECJ case but it is very rare to have so many piling in. The vast majority support @UEFA Just two back #ESL /6
The problem with sport is that it used to just be about rules of the game (size of balls, lengths of games). That’s all legitimate for a governing body.

But now it’s BIG BUSINESS & decisions on broadcast rights, relegation, sponsorship, calendar etc have huge financial impact/7
And that means competition law — which is essentially the EU law governing fair business dealings — is front and centre.

When does a governing body’s act to “protect” the sport, becoming a harmful act to exclude a business?

That’s the question for the judges./8
The skating dispute is the warm-up this morning. The judges will hear that dispute first. Essentially, it’s the same question as #ESL

Did the ISU governing body unfairly sanction skaters for taking part in a rival event in #Dubai?

@ISU_Speed says NO./9
The ISU says the event in Dubai had betting involved and that wasn’t good for the sport. So it was right to tell skaters: “if you go over there, you can’t play in the usual ISU events.”

So, again, it’s about fairness, proportionality and pursuing a legitimate aim. /10
Pretty much every sport on the planet should be interested in the outcome of this case. Warning: judgment won’t come for months.

I’m gonna be here writing about it, so get ready for clichés & tortured sporting analogies. Sorry. /ends

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More from @lewis_crofts

Jul 12
UEFA v #SuperLeague has ended. Lots of Qs from judges, hinting where the fault lines of the case are:
- Treaty articles on sport & antitrust
- 'closed competitions'
- Solidarity payments
- notion of 'restricting competition'
- specificities of sport
Settle down for a /thread
Jan Passer, reporting judge, asked about money. He wants to know how much cash countries get from UEFA. What %age of their income? He asked #ESL what its plans are.

#ESL has a solidarity fund. But it is voluntary. Still, they reckon it's better than UEFA's. /1
AG Rantos asked why doesn't ESL just set up outside the UEFA ecosystem.

ESL said the clubs would get sanctioned & might face bankruptcy. They need some time to build the new league, it said. For that it needs the money, and the sanctions for leaving are "draconian."/2
Read 11 tweets
Jul 12
It's been pretty brutal for #EuropeanSuperLeague this morning in #EUhearing against @UEFA

EU countries lining up to call it a "cartel" that rubbishes "Europe's model of sport."

Romania, Poland, Malta, Portugal, Austria, Slovenia. None of them had a positive word for #ESL /1
Norway was also there. (It isn't an EU member, but it took up its right to plead before ECJ). It noted that Norwegian teams from the provinces had been promoted and played European sport because of the openness of UEFA structure, on sporting merit. #ESL puts that at risk /2
Shame there was no mention of @ErlingHaaland even though his old club was mentioned as one of the places that benefitted from the UEFA model.

"Its about preserving opportunities," Norway's lawyer said. /3
Read 7 tweets
Jul 11
One-way traffic at ECJ today against the #EuropeanSuperLeague

Country after country is standing up and backing @UEFA 's right to block ESL attempt to set up a rival league. Small countries (Estonia, Ireland, Denmark etc) see themselves excluded from the 'closed competition.' /1
They also note the money they get from @UEFA which feeds into the grass roots. They reckon their clubs would never get into the closed-shop ESL.

They say the UEFA regime of authorizing rival events serves legitimate purposes of protecting European sport /2
Side note: Ireland did its pleading in Gaelic which was bloody lovely.

It said there would be "devastating consequences" if "large clubs" could grab all the revenues from the game. Estonia and Greece agreed. /3
Read 12 tweets
Jul 11
"Do you believe that @UEFA will ever authorise a competitor to the Champions League?"

#EuropeanSuperLeague lawyer Miguel Odriozola starts ECJ hearing with a rhetorical question.

"The answer that you are all thinking of is NO. Never." /thread
Both sides went at it for an hour or so this pm. UEFA and FIFA on one side, ESL and its promoter A22 on the other.

The shortest summary:

ESL: "you're an ugly monopoly, UEFA!!!"
UEFA: "you guy's are a money-grabbing cartel!!!" /2
SuperLeague started with a takedown of UEFA for never allowing anyone to set up any other competitions. It said UEFA had a conflict of interest that need to be unwound. It's a conflict between regulatory role and the economic interests of organizing competitions. /3
Read 9 tweets
Jul 11
Update: EU court opened with skating dispute, saying it was the "warm-up" for #SuperLeague
Short summary:
- very engaged court
- will pose qu's later on conflicts of interest at @uefa
- will explore EU treaty conflict btw sport & competition law
- Opinion slated for Dec 15
/1
This morning was about International Skating Union @ISU_Speed against @EU_Commission over #antitrust decision that excluded @marktuitert from Dubai-based events.

ISU imposed bans because the Dubai event featured betting. EC said the eligibility criteria were not transparent. /2
Jan Passer (Czech judge) is leading the questions & was forensic. Wanted to know about where ISU got its powers from (derived from IOC @iocmedia ? or member associations?). Also wanted to know about "conflicts of interest." This is a governing body having regulatory powers.../3
Read 12 tweets
Nov 11, 2021
I've slept on it. Here's a 'tepid-take' (HT @DrMJCole) on Google ruling.
- politically: huge for @vestager
- practically: won't change much becoz #DMA is new kid in town,
- legally: EU judges' stance on 'essential facility' will cause controversy & perhaps an appeal
/thread
1st, politically:

Court approval for @EU_Competition mantra of 'self-preferencing' is huge; this concept underpins the last decade of action & rhetoric from Brussels, and now the whole world.

Court blessing for that will be read as: 'keep going, you're on the right track.' /2
Losing this case would have been a horror for the entire policy drive, for cases against @Apple @amazon @Meta & for @vestager reputation. As it is, EC goes into all that strengthened.

Court also said Google's "abnormal" conduct can't be explained away as the right to innovate/3
Read 12 tweets

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