(SATSports) – FIFA and UEFA should not prevent clubs from participating in the proposed European Super League, a Spanish court said in a preliminary ruling on Tuesday.
The Madrid court said the two organizations and all associated football federations must not put “any measure that prohibits, restricts, limits or conditions in any way” the creation of the Super League.
The Super League is fronted by some of Europe’s biggest football club as a rival to UEFA’s established Champions League.
It aims to have around 15 founding members and a 20-team league, with five other clubs qualifying each season.
The founding members would have their participation guaranteed, taking away the jeopardy of relegation and ensuring their year-on-year participation in the lucrative league.
This move has been met by global criticism, with various players, coaches, club owners and fans voicing their disapproval of it.
On Monday, Leeds United players wore T-shirts branded ‘Champions League: Earn It’ and ‘Football is for the Fans’
The 12 founding clubs are; AC Milan, Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Chelsea, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin warned that players from the proposed Super League clubs would be banned from the European Championship and next year’s World Cup.
In response, Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez, the founding chairman of the Super League, downplayed UEFA’s threat to ban players.
The players “can be assured that this won’t happen,” Pérez said. “It’s not going to happen. We won’t get into the legal aspects of it, but it won’t happen. It’s impossible.”
Three of the Super League founding clubs – Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid — are scheduled to play in the Champions League semifinals next week.
Another two – Arsenal and Manchester United – are set to feature in the same stage of the Europa League.
