Johnny Phillips: Super League still a dead duck but money does talk

Thursday’s ruling declared that the two organisations “abused their dominant position in the sport” by blocking the creation of new club competitions. But before A22 – the management company behind the European Super League – start celebrating it is worth pointing out that the European Court of Justice said that the ruling did not mean that any plans to revive the controversial concept should be approved in the future.

So, where does the concept of a European Super League go from here and should supporters be concerned?

A22 reacted to the news with bullish and pompous statements including, “The UEFA monopoly is over” and “Football is free”. The second of those would be hilarious were it not for the desperate state of the way the game is currently administered, as demonstrated by a World Cup that went to Qatar last year and will soon be heading to Saudi Arabia. Football is dictated entirely by money and a European Super League, far from setting football free, would just increase the hold of money over the sport.

Alongside the triumphant declarations came a promotional video from A22 explaining what the new super league proposals will look like, with a three-tier system of Star, Gold and Blue leagues. Relegation and promotion is being touted between these tiers although the higher end of the ladder involves few opportunities for genuine diversity of clubs. If the Champions League already feels like a closed shop at the business end of the tournament, then this proposal is 10 times more of a carve up. It is designed to keep the biggest, wealthiest clubs at the top of the tree.

“We watched the so-called presentation of A22,” said UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin. “It’s really hard to decide if you should be shocked or amused by the show we have seen. Seeing as it’s close to Christmas, I will choose amusement. We will not try to stop them.”

Supporters were vehemently opposed to the European Super League when it was first proposed and would be similarly against anything of the sort going forward, despite the ruling, judging by statements coming out of fans’ representative groups in the UK and on the continent. This appears to be the overwhelming obstacle that those who want to push a breakaway league through would face. Ultimately, it was supporter unrest that put paid to the plans of the English clubs to join the European Super League when it was initially announced in April 2021. “As our friends at Football Supporters Europe point out - there is no place for an ill-conceived breakaway super league,” said Football Supporters Association chief executive Kevin Miles, on Thursday. “Supporters, players and clubs have already made clear they don’t want a stitched-up competition - we all want to see the trigger pulled on the walking dead monstrosity that is the European Zombie League. “While the corpse might continue to twitch in the European courts, no English side will be joining. The incoming independent regulator will block any club from competing in domestic competition if

they join a breakaway super league. Success must be earned on the pitch, not stitched-up in boardrooms.”

As things stand, only Barcelona and Real Madrid remain supportive of the 12 clubs originally behind the breakaway league. They might have won the European Cup a record 14 times, but Real Madrid have always been the most likely club to disrupt the status quo. Club president Florentino Perez did not waste time suggesting that everything was back on the table.

“We see our right to propose and promote European competitions that modernise our sport and attract fans from all over the world fully recognised,” he said. “Today the Europe of freedoms has triumphed again and so has football and its fans. And that’s why Real Madrid will continue to work for the good of football.”

That is all well and good but Perez appears to be taking the fans for granted. Clearly there is no appetite or future for the concept without the buy-in of other clubs and their supporters.

But while the European Super League still resembles a dead duck as 2023 draws to a close, nothing can be ruled out going forward. Whether that involves the reformatting of current tournaments or another shot at a breakaway, who knows? Money tends to do the loudest talking where football is involved. And for that, the sport usually ends up in a poorer place. For now at least, Thursday’s European Court of Justice ruling changes nothing.