By Matthew Napolitano:
As the anniversary of the European Super League approaches in April, we look back at how this new tournament threatened the structure of European Football and how organizations are using contracts to block future breakaway tournaments. The European Super League was a new tournament proposed by twelve of the wealthiest clubs in Europe to replace the current Champions League.[1] The structure of European Football is unlike that of American sports.[2] European Football has a pyramid structure where a club’s success can result in being promoted to the top tier of their domestic system, but a club’s poor performance can result in relegation to a lower tier.[3] The top teams of each nation can earn places for the Champions League tournament by finishing near the top of their respective leagues.[4] The European Super League threatened the merit-based system and moved towards an American approach where these twelve founding teams are guaranteed places in the tournament no matter their previous season’s performance.
The announcement of the European Super League was met with strong, quick backlash. Fans, organizations, and other clubs reacted with strong disapproval because they understood that the European Super League founders were attempting to maximize their profits at the expense of the merit-based system that allows every club a route to participate in and win the top competition in European Football.[5] For example, fans from the founding teams of Liverpool and Chelsea had fans show up to their stadiums denouncing their involvement in the European Super League.[6] Players began to speak out against the new tournament.[7] Thus, if the breakaway clubs were to continue their involvement, they would be ignoring the disapproval and disgust of their fan base (consumers) and their players (employees). Further, the breakaway clubs would be ignoring the disapproval of associations they belong to as the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and the English Premier League released statements condemning the new tournament as well.[8] Eventually, most of the breakaway tournament’s founders withdrew from the competition and began settlement talks with their respective leagues and UEFA.[9]
The settlement agreements that the breakaway clubs entered will help protect the merit-based system that their leagues and fans spoke out to defend. The nine clubs that withdrew their involvement with the European Super League reached a combined settlement with UEFA.[10] This agreement led to a forfeiture of five percent of their revenue earned from playing in European competitions and a combined payment of €15 million to youth and grassroots football.[11] Also, the agreement subjects the clubs to €100 million in fines if they attempt to play in an unapproved competition or €50 million in fines for any other commitment breach.[12] These agreements are important to UEFA because they are not being displaced as the holder of the Champions League. The nine clubs’ inability to join another breakaway attempt safeguards UEFA’s Champions League and their ability to control the professional clubs in Europe.
The English clubs subjected themselves to further penalties and fines for their involvement and any future attempt to play in unapproved competitions. English clubs Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, and Tottenham commonly referred to as The Big Six settled with the English Premier League.[13] The Big Six agreed to a collective payment of £22 million to grassroots football and community programs.[14] The clubs also subjected themselves to a 30-point deduction from their league points[15] and a £25 million fine if they attempt to play in another unapproved competition.[16] The agreements are important to the English Premier League because the terms protect the other English clubs’ interests in the pyramid system by having equal access to Europe’s highest competition.
UEFA and the English Premier Leagues’ interests are not the most important thing that these settlement agreements protect. The agreements protect a much bigger interest, that of the fans. Fans of clubs not involved in the formation of the European Super League can continue to dream of their team one day lifting Europe’s most prestigious trophy.
[1] See Generally Haris Kruskic, UEFA Champions League Explained: How the Tournament Works, Bleacher Report (Feb. 12, 2019), https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2819840-uefa-champions-league-explained-how-the-tournament-works (explaining the current structure of the Champions League).
[2] Ben Church, Kevin Dotson & Brad Lendon, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin says those clubs planning a new Super League are ‘taking football hostage’, CNN (Apr. 19, 2021, 3:09 PM), https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/18/sport/football-super-league-announced/index.html.
[3] European Soccer Explained, SBNation (Sept. 26, 2014), https://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2014/9/26/6851551/european-soccer-explained#vocab_intro.
[4] Id.
[5] European Super League: What It Is And Why Everyone’s So Angry About It, HuffPost UK (Apr. 19, 2021, 12:05 PM), https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/europe-super-league-football-controversy-explained_uk_607d323de4b001abc4de632d.
[6] Elijah Newsome, Everything You Need to Know about the European Super League in 10(ish) Tweets, msn (Apr. 19, 2021), https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/soccer/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-european-super-league-in-10ish-tweets/ar-BB1fOTWx#:~:text=UEFA%20and%20the%20Premier%20League%20were%20among%20the,super%20League%20and%20went%20as%20far%20to%20say%3A.
[7] Id.
[8] Id.
[9] Rob Harris, 9 Super League clubs accept UEFA fines, 3 rebels face bans, AP News (May 7, 2021), https://apnews.com/article/serie-a-premier-league-la-liga-europe-business-9fdff696ea3cecc515bcf88ade2a9e38.
[10] Id.
[11] Id.
[12] Id.
[13] Mark Kleinman, European Super League: ‘Big Six’ clubs to pay £22m settlement to Premier League over failed breakaway plot, Sky News (June 10, 2021 7:54 PM), https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12328502/european-super-league-big-six-clubs-to-pay-20m-settlement-to-premier-league-over-failed-breakaway-plot.
[14] Id.
[15] SBNation, supra note 3.
[16] Kleinman, supra note 13.
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