Thread by @lewis_crofts

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

There were questions about the "conflict of interest" of @UEFA as both regulatory body & economic actor. Should it be split up?

UEFA: No way. First, there's no conflict. 2nd, structural changes are only one way to address a conflict. There are others.

@EU_Commission agreed/3

Most entertaining exchange was between Judge Wahl and @EU_Commission

Wahl said EC position was "incoherent." If UEFA statutes were a 'restriction of competition', then the only way out was an exemption (101.3). Introducing a 'sporting exemption' would be changing the law. /4

There was also debate about the clash of Art 165 and Art 101 (of the Lisbon Treaty, come on, keep up). The first is sport, the second is antitrust.

Did the Lisbon Treaty change anything?

EC thinks it codified prior judgments & the 165 objectives justify the UEFA restriction/5

Judge Passer: there is some "disharmony" between the EC position on #ESL and in the prior skating case @ISU_Speed Could the EC clear this up?

I attended that case yday but have forgotten all of it already & didn't understand the EC answer. Sorry. #Ignorant/6

There was some discussion of the EU's 'pyramid' structure of sport. (Grass roots up to elite levels)

#ESL lawyer Jean-Louis Dupont had a good line: "The Egyptians built magnificent pyramids. But UEFA's pyramid would not win a lot of architectural prizes." /7

EC was at pains not to say that @uefa was the only model for sport. Lots of sports have lots of different models.

UEFA lawyer @KeaneLegal was vocal in pointing to shortcomings of other models such as basketball, which had squeezed out teams/countries over time. /8

The next thing in the case: AG Rantos will hand down an opinion on Dec 15. This is non-binding and is just a view. I bet you a load of journalists will write it up as the "final ruling". It always happens. Sorry in advance.

On the same day, the opinion in @ISU_Speed case /9

That's it from me. Going for a shower & a debrief with Carlo Ancelotti. Next season, I am transferring to Major League Soccer @MLS in the USA. They have fewer disputes.

If you've been reading, thanks. Can we just solve the next case with penalties? /ends