Partner and Head of Sport, Simon Leaf, has been quoted in the Financial Times and Law360 on the latest developments on the proposed European Super League (ESL) in football.
A recent high-profile ruling from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) stated that world and European football governing bodies FIFA and UEFA had "abused a dominant position" by threatening the Super League clubs and their players with sanctions and exclusion from other major competitions. The ruling could open the door for new challenger competitions in world sport.
In full, Simon commented: “Today’s ruling will send shockwaves through the sports world. For the second time in as many weeks, competition law has shown its teeth and scuppered the plans of established sports regulators and governing bodies. The decision will not only be cheered in the boardrooms of the Spanish giants, in the case of Real Madrid and Barcelona, but will also be welcome news to challenger groups across the industry, who will no doubt be looking to challenge the establishment by setting up rival competitions in the near future.
"However, in reality, given the impending formation of the new Independent Regulator For English Football, that was recently announced in the King’s speech, we are unlikely to see English clubs joining a breakaway league anytime soon. This will certainly be something that they, and the Premier League, will be monitoring closely.”
Related coverage
The Financial Times
Law360