The antitrust case against Europe s breakaway soccer league japantimes.co.jp - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from japantimes.co.jp Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Premier League s Big Six could breach their players contracts with a breakaway
A common clause states clubs must follow statutes and regulations of FIFA
Players must also not be denied the chance to play international football
UEFA and FIFA would ban players from competing at the World Cup and Euros
Premier League captains are voicing concerns at the plans on a WhatsApp group
UEFA, Super League locked in phoney war france24.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from france24.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Lausanne (AFP) – The declaration of a private Super League has hurled UEFA and the 12 rebel football clubs into a complex legal and political battle, fraught with wider implications for European sport.
Will the spat between European football’s governing body and the breakaway big clubs end up in the courts?
– What is the current state of battle? –
“We are entering a phoney war, where the two camps are digging their trenches and preparing for the legal attacks to come,” said Antoine Duval, a European sports law expert at the Asser Institute in The Hague.
In a letter seen by AFP, sent Sunday to UEFA and to FIFA world football’s governing body the Super League said it had already “filed a motion before the relevant courts in order to ensure the seamless establishment and operation of the competition in accordance with applicable laws”.
European Super League clubs have a good chance of winning any legal battle with UEFA if football s governing body tries to block plans for the breakaway competition, an expert has warned.
Legal fights between governing bodies and upstart competitions have been fought before, with courts recently coming down on the side of promoting more competition in wrestling and ice skating, among others.
The 12 clubs, from England, Italy and Spain, announced plans on Sunday night to set up a competition to rival UEFA s Champions League and Europa League tournaments.
But the Premier League and UEFA are determined to use their rules to squeeze out clubs that are prepared to risk participating in a new tournament.