FIFA and UEFA acted illegally in blocking the creation of the European Super League (ESL), the European Union’s top court has ruled.
The court had been asked to decide whether the two bodies acted against competition law with its rules which stopped the formation of the league in 2021 and then by seeking to sanction the clubs involved.
The European Court Of Justice said that such rules were “contrary to EU law, contrary to competition law and the freedom to provide services”, adding that FIFA and UEFA were abusing their dominant position in football.
The court’s ruling does not mean that a competition such as the ESL must necessarily be approved.
Judges added the court “does not rule on that specific project in its judgement”.
However, the ruling does bring fresh life into the proposals, which were thought to have been on hold after receiving widespread backlash from fans and clubs.
Its backers relaunched the Super League on Thursday after the judgment, proposing a three-tiered league and cup competition with teams from across Europe.
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The original proposal for the league, involving 12 of Europe’s biggest clubs including six English teams, collapsed shortly after it was announced in April 2021, sparking widespread condemnation.
Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Manchester City were forced to pull out amid a furious backlash from rivals, fans and politicians.
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‘Football is free’ – how does new ESL proposal work?
A22 Sports Management, the European commercial sports development company behind the ESL, said its new proposal for the league for both the men’s and women’s game was more open, based on merit and would feature promotion and relegation – addressing criticisms levelled at the 2021 plan.
The proposal for the men’s game involves the following: • A 64-team European competition system; • The top two leagues will be known as the Star League and Gold League – potential replacements for the Champions League and Europa League; • The Star and Gold league will have 16 teams each; • The bottom league will be known as the Blue League; • Promotion into the bottom league will come from domestic leagues only, implying teams locked in the top two leagues would be hard to remove.
A22 also announced its intention to change the way fans watch football. It proposed a project called Unify, which would allow fans to watch every single game of the new competition on one platform, for free.
“This proposal has been shaped with the input of clubs with all sizes,” Bernd Reichart, the chief executive of A22 Sports, said in a statement.
A22 Sports initially challenged FIFA and UEFA’s right to block the formation of the ESL and impose sanctions on competing clubs in the courts.
The firm argued football’s international and European governing bodies have an unfair monopoly and market dominance on the running of club competitions.
After the ruling, Mr Reichart said in a statement posted on X: “We have won the #RightToCompete. The UEFA-monopoly is over. Football is FREE.
“Clubs are now free from the threat of sanction AND free to determine their own futures.”
Based on results from a fan-led government review, the regulator will also implement a licensing system for all clubs from the Premier League down to the National League.
Today, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, said it “stands by” its decision to create a new independent regulator for English football.
“We will shortly be bringing forward legislation that makes this a reality, and will stop clubs from joining any similar breakaway competitions in the future,” a spokesperson said.
What does the ruling mean for English football clubs?
In reaction to the European Court Of Justice’s (ECJ) ruling today, the UK government has said it plans to bring forward plans for a new independent regulator for English football.
The regulator will be given the power to stop English football clubs from joining new competitions that “harm the domestic game” – and a summary of the proposals said it would “safeguard against a future European Super League-style breakaway league”.
In effect, the regulator would prevent British clubs from joining the breakaway competition.
In addition, because the UK has now left the European Union, the clubs would not be able to appeal against this decision to the EU’s top court.
Plan ‘selfish and elitist’ – but two big clubs back it
In a damning view on the league, Spain’s LaLiga – the Spanish equivalent of the Premier League – called the breakaway competition “selfish and elitist” after the court ruling.
But its top two clubs – Real Madrid and Barcelona – remain enthusiastic backers of the rival project.
Real Madrid’s president, Florentino Perez, hailed the court ruling as a “great day for football and sports”.
Mr Perez was one of the leading figures in the breakaway competition, alongside Barcelona’s Joan Laporta Estruch.
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In a video statement posted on X, Mr Estruch said: “We believe that the time has come for clubs and those who are owned by their members to have greater control over their destiny, over their future, over their sustainability.
“The new Super League format is not intended to go against the Spanish league, not against the national league. On the contrary, with an improved European competition and more resources for the clubs, the national leagues will become more balanced and competitive.”
The views of LaLiga’s two biggest clubs were in stark contrast to those of football fan network, Football Supporters Europe (FSE), who maintain any plans to form the ESL continue to “endanger the future” of European football.
“Whatever comes next, the Super League remains an ill-conceived project that endangers the future of European football. FSE, our members, and fans across Europe will continue to fight it,” the group said in a statement.
UEFA ‘committed to uphold the European football pyramid’
Reacting on Thursday, UEFA said it takes note of the European court’s judgment, but said it does not signify an “endorsement or validation of the so-called super league”.
The body said it remains “resolute in its commitment to uphold the European football pyramid” and in ensuring that it continues to serve the “broader interests of society”.
“We trust that the solidarity-based European football pyramid that the fans and all stakeholders have declared as their irreplaceable model will be safeguarded against the threat of breakaways by European and national laws,” UEFA said.
The binding ruling will now be referred back to the Madrid commercial court, which adjudicates legal corporate disputes, where a Spanish judge ruled teams should not be punished for their involvement in the ESL.
Potential suitors have again begun circling ITV, Britain’s biggest terrestrial commercial broadcaster, after a prolonged period of share price weakness and renewed questions about its long-term strategic destiny.
Sky News has learnt that a number of possible bidders for parts or all of the company, whose biggest shows include Love Island, have in recent weeks held early-stage discussions about teaming up to pursue a potential transaction.
TV industry sources said this weekend that CVC Capital Partners and a major European broadcaster – thought to be France’s Groupe TF1 – were among those which had been starting to study the merits of a potential offer.
The sources added that RedBird Capital-owned All3Media and Mediawan, which is backed by the private equity giant KKR, were also on the list of potential suitors for the ITV Studios production arm.
One cautioned this weekend that none of the work on potential bids was at a sufficiently advanced stage to require disclosure under the UK’s stock market disclosure rules, and suggested that ITV’s board – chaired by Andrew Cosslett – had not received any recent unsolicited approaches.
That meant that the prospects of any formal approach materialising was highly uncertain.
The person added, however, that Dame Carolyn McCall, ITV’s long-serving chief executive, had been discussing with the company’s financial advisers the merits of a demerger or other form of separation of its two main business units.
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Its main banking advisers are Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Robey Warshaw.
ITV’s shares are languishing at just 65.5p, giving the whole company a market capitalisation of £2.51bn.
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The stock rose more than 5% on Friday amid vague market chatter about a possible takeover bid.
Bankers and analysts believe that ITV Studios, which made Disney+’s hit show, Rivals, would be worth more than the entire company’s market capitalisation in a break-up of ITV.
People close to the situation said that under one possible plan being studied, CVC could be interested in acquiring ITV Studios, with a European broadcast partner taking over its broadcasting arm, including the ITVX streaming platform.
“At the right price, it would make sense if CVC wanted the undervalued production business, with TF1 wanting an English language streaming service in ITVX, along with the cashflows of the declining channels,” one broadcasting industry veteran said this weekend.
“They would only get the assets, though, in a deal worth double the current share price.”
Takeover speculation about ITV, which competes with Sky News’ parent company, has been a recurring theme since the company was created from the merger of Carlton and Granada more than 20 years ago.
ITV said this month that it would seek additional cost savings of £20m this year as it continued to deal with the fallout from last year’s strikes by Hollywood writers and actors.
It added that revenues at the Studios arm would decline over the current financial year, with advertising revenues sharply lower in the fourth quarter than in the same period a year earlier because of the tough comparison with 2023’s Rugby World Cup.
Allies of Dame Carolyn, who has run ITV since 2018, argue that she has transformed ITV, diversifying further into production and overhauling its digital capabilities.
The majority of ITV’s revenue now comes from profitable and growing areas, including ITVX and the Studios arm, they said.
By 2026, those areas are expected to account for more than two-thirds of the group’s sales.
This year, its production arm was responsible for the most-viewed drama of the year on any channel or platform, Mr Bates versus The Post Office.
In its third-quarter update earlier this month, Dame Carolyn said the company’s “good strategic progress has continued in the first nine months of 2024 driven by strong execution and industry-leading creativity”.
“ITV Studios is performing well despite the expected impact of both the writer’s strike and a softer market from free-to-air broadcasters.”
She said the unit would achieve record profits this year.
ITV and CVC declined to comment, while TF1, RedBird and Mediawan did not respond to requests for comment.
The family which has owned Ann Summers, the lingerie and sex toy retailer, for more than half a century is to explore options for the business which could include a partial or majority sale.
Sky News has learnt that the Gold family is close to hiring Interpath, the corporate advisory firm, to work on a strategic review which could lead to the disposal of a big stake in the chain.
Retail industry sources said this weekend that Ann Summers had been in talks with Interpath for several weeks, although it has yet to be formally instructed.
The chain, which was founded in 1971 and acquired by David and Ralph Gold when it fell into liquidation the following year, trades from 83 stores and employs over 1,000 people.
The family continues to own 100% of the equity in the company.
Sources said that some dilution of the Golds’ interest was probable, although it was far from certain that they would sell a controlling stake.
In a statement issued in response to an enquiry from Sky News, Vanessa Gold, Ann Summers’ chair, commented: “We, like many other retailers, are dealing with the unhelpful backdrop to business of the decisions announced by the government at the Budget and the rising cost to retail.
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“As a family-owned business, we are in a fortunate position and have committed investment for over 50 years.
“This has created a robust and resilient business.
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“We are exploring a number of options to further grow the brand into 2025 and beyond.”
Ms Gold is among many senior retail figures to publicly criticise the tax changes announced in the Budget unveiled by Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, last month.
The British Retail Consortium published a letter last weeks signed by scores of its members in which they warned of price rises and job losses.
Private equity firms and other retail groups are expected to express an interest in a takeover of Ann Summers.
One possible contender could be the Frasers billionaire Mike Ashley, who already owns upmarket rival Agent Provocateur.
Any formal process is unlikely to yield a result until next year, with the key Christmas trading period the principal focus for the shareholders and management during the next month.
Ann Summers is one of Britain’s best-known retailers, with a profile belying its relatively modest size.
In the early 1980s, Jacqueline Gold, the then executive chairman who died last year, conceived the idea of holding Ann Summers parties – a key milestone in the company’s growth.
At its largest, the chain traded from nearly twice the number of shops it has today, but like many retailers was forced to seek rent cuts from landlords after weak trading during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This week, The Daily Telegraph reported that the Gold family had stepped in to provide several million pounds of additional funding to Ann Summers in the form of a loan.
Vanessa Gold – Jacqueline’s sister – also asked bankers to explore the sale of part of the family’s stake in West Ham United Football Club last year.
That process, run by Rothschild, has yet to result in a deal.
Bosch will cut up to 5,500 jobs as it struggles with slow electric vehicle sales and competition from Chinese imports.
It is the latest blow to the European car industry after Volkswagen and Ford announced thousands of job cuts in the last month.
Cheaper Chinese-made electric cars have made it trickier for European manufacturers to remain competitive while demand has weakened for the driver assistance and automated driving solutions made by Bosch.
The company said a slower-than-expected transition to electric, software-controlled vehicles was partly behind the cuts, which are being made in the car parts division.
Demand for new cars has fallen overall in Germany as the economy has slowed, with recession only narrowly avoided in recent years.
The final number of job cuts has yet to be agreed with employee representatives. Bosch said they would be carried out in a “socially responsible” way.
About half the job reductions would be at locations in Germany.
Bosch, the world’s biggest car parts supplier, has already committed to not making layoffs in Germany until 2027 for many employees, and until 2029 for a subsection of its workforce. It said this pact would remain in place.
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The job cuts would be made over approximately the next eight years.
The Gerlingen site near Stuttgart will lose some 3,500 jobs by the end of 2027, reducing the workforce developing car software, advanced driver assistance and automated driving technology.
Other losses will be at the Hildesheim site near Hanover, where 750 jobs will go by end the of 2032, and the plant in Schwaebisch Gmund, which will lose about 1,300 roles between 2027 and 2030.
Its remaining German plants are also set to be downsized.
While Germany has been hit hard by cuts, it is not bearing the brunt alone.
Earlier this week, Ford announced plans to cut 4,000 jobs across Europe – including 800 in the UK – as the industry fretted over weak electric vehicle (EV) sales that could see firms fined more for missing government targets.