Breakaway soccer league could be hit by EU competition law

Date: 03/09/1998

By Chris Johnstone

COMPETITION Commissioner Karel van Miert is set to warn leading European football clubs that their bid to create a breakaway super league could fall foul of EU law.

A move by football giants such as AC Milan, Ajax, Manchester United and Barcelona to go it alone by creating their own league outside the current UEFA structure would not pose a problem in itself, say Commission sources close to Van Miert.

However, they add that the question of how exclusive the television rights to the new league's games would be and its membership rules would probably have to be investigated.

"One question could be how long a club is tied to the new set-up. A certain period of commitment while it is getting started is understandable, but how long would this last?" said one.

So far, plans for the super league only exist on paper and keen football fan Van Miert has remained silent on the issue over the summer, despite confirmation from top clubs that they were talking about the controversial project.

He is due to meet lawyers working for the Milan-based company behind the proposal, Media Partners, next Monday (7 September). They claim European football's governing body UEFA will be vulnerable to charges of abusing its dominant position if it tries to block the creation of a rival European competition.

Top UEFA officials are also scheduled to meet Van Miert some time this month to put their case to the Commission for preventing the break-up of the current structure of European football.

UEFA and some national football associations have warned that clubs joining the new league could be banned from existing national and European tournaments.

Big-name football clubs are being tempted by the extra money from lucrative television rights which Media Partners says would flow from weekly clashes between the titans of the turf.

Some clubs estimate that they could at least double their broadcasting income if a super league were created, in addition to the extra marketing and advertising income which would be generated from spin-offs.

Van Miert has clashed frequently in the past with UEFA, especially over its attempts to prevent the free movement of players between clubs - a battle which ended with the European Court of Justice's landmark ruling in the Bosman case.

However, the idea of a super league also raises questions about the hold of big money over sport and ordinary supporters' or television viewers' chances of seeing games.

Van Miert has pushed through Commission decisions aimed at keeping major sports events on public TV channels, and stopping their private pay-TV rivals from buying up exclusive screening rights.

Media Partners and AC Milan both have links with media mogul and former right-wing Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.