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UEFA 'will have to abandon moves to punish' ESL rebels Real Madrid, Juve & Barca

  /  autty

The legal battle between the European Super League, UEFA and FIFA has escalated dramatically after the case was referred to the European Court of Justice.

The surprise move effectively forces UEFA to abandon its current moves to punish Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus, for their role in the breakaway, say expert lawyers.

The European governing body has launched a 'disciplinary investigation' that could result in the three rebel clubs being expelled from UEFA's competitions, including the Champions League, for the next two years.

The two La Liga clubs and one from Serie A are the only three of the original 12 who signed up for the breakaway competition not to have formally withdrawn.

Their refusal to backdown has infuriated UEFA and its president Aleksander Ceferin. Earlier this month UEFA said it 'reserved all rights to take whatever action it deems appropriate against those clubs.

But any immediate prospect of a ban has been effectively quashed after the European Court of Justice was asked to examine UEFA and FIFA's treatment of the renegade competition, it's claimed.

Lawyers spoken to by Sportsmail suggest UEFA would be 'stupid' to pursue a ban – or any punishment - at this point because it could incur the wrath of Europe's highest court or expose itself to huge damages if the judges find in favour of the Super League.

'UEFA is in a risky position,' an expert in competition law with knowledge of the case told Sportsmail. 'This is a strong warning and UEFA will have to think twice. They should know when to stop, and this is a good moment.'

Another competition lawyer, who specialises in Sport, Mark Orth, agreed. He told Sportsmail: 'It would not be the most intelligent move, it would be a confrontation with judges, which is never a good idea,'.

The three rebel clubs were driving forces behind the hatching of the Super League plan, which emerged on April 18.

Backed by around £3.5billion in funding by American bank JP Morgan, the idea was to create a new midweek competition with at least 12 founder members who could not be relegated from it.

Six Premier League clubs - Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur - as well as Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid from Spain and the Italian trio of Juventus, Inter Milan and AC Milan signed up as founder members.

However, the six English teams withdrew from the plans 48 hours later following a furious backlash from fans. Inter, AC Milan and Atletico also later backed away from the plans.

These nine clubs agreed a peace deal with UEFA earlier this month.

At issue is whether UEFA and FIFA should allow a rival competition to be set up and if they abused their position in threatening clubs, who wanted to participate in the Super League.

If the European court considers football's governing bodies treated the Super League unfairly, the consequences are far reaching.

'A European Court of Justice judgement in favour of the Super League will make it more likely to happen in the future,' said Orth, of MEOLaw in Munich. 'The legal steps now being taken gives much more certainty for a Super League in the future.

'It would limit UEFA's ability to discipline the rebel clubs and make it much more difficult for them to ban the clubs from the Champions League or other competitions.

'The risk [in this case going to the European court] is much higher for UEFA.'

There are legal precedents that will give UEFA cause for concern.

The European Commission has previously ruled that the International Skating Union cannot prevent speed skaters from participating in new money-spinning events. That decision was supported in a judgement in Europe's second highest court, the General Court in Luxembourg, in December.

The involvement of the European Court of Justice has taken Europe's competition lawyers by surprise, after it was reported in a trade magazine in Spain, called Confilegal.

It is part of an ongoing case, which opened in Madrid in April, in the brief 48-hour period after the Super League was announced and before it fell apart.

The Super League complained to the Madrid court that it was being treated unfairly by UEFA and FIFA, since they had issued threats about expelling clubs from competitions and banning players from representing their county, if they joined the breakaway.

The Spanish judge, Manuel Ruiz de Lara, agreed and issued an interim judgement - on the very eve of the Super League's collapse - banning UEFA and FIFA from making more threats or doing anything to intimidate the breakaway league or any of its participants.

In an unusual move, given that Judge Ruiz de Lara has only made an interim judgement and has not yet heard UEFA's defence, he has now asked the European Court of Justice to clarify whether UEFA and FIFA have the power to prevent other rival competitions from being organised and if they have abused their positions.

Lawyers say that Judge Ruiz de Lara is essentially raising the stakes for UEFA because he appears to feel the European governing body has ignored his original ruling by pursing a 'disciplinary investigation'.

The Spanish courts interim ruling is not binding outside of Spain, until notice is served on UEFA, which could take time. It's believed the judge is seeking to out-manoeuvre the governing body. The European court could throw the matter back to Spain without giving an opinion at this stage, but the point will still have been made, say lawyers.

'This creates a lot of pressure on UEFA,' an experienced competition lawyer told Sportsmail. 'The judge is putting them on notice by involving the highest court in Europe. It is like saying 'here is my power'.

'It is a warning signal. The judge wanted to stop any action that could prevent football clubs organising themselves differently.

'Now he is saying, 'if you think you can disregard a judge in Madrid, I am going to escalate this situation to the Court of Justice in Luxembourg and you will have to behave.'

The European court is expected to give an opinion in around two months, and if it finds in favour of the super league that will establish a strong precedent for any future court cases anywhere in Europe.

Effectively, this development elevates the case and any findings above the level of Spain to one that will impact the whole continent, including Switzerland, where UEFA is based.

In his submission to the European court Judge Ruiz de Lara asks six specific questions, including whether UEFA and FIFA have broken the law by imposing sanctions on clubs and players participating in a Super League and whether they are effectively preventing competition in the football by asserting a dominant position.

And according to Confilegal, the judge has asked for a quick decision because of the importance of the case.

'The undoubted social and economic significance that derives from the present litigation and the interpretation of Community law requires a prompt resolution by the Court of Justice of the European Union on the application of community provisions,' wrote Judge Ruiz de Lara.