Official Journal of the European Union

C series

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C/2024/2271

Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 21 December 2023 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Juzgado de lo Mercantil de Madrid — Spain) — European Superleague Company SL v Fédération internationale de football association (FIFA), Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)

(Case C-333/21, (1) European Superleague Company)

(Request for a preliminary ruling - Competition - Internal market - Rules introduced by international sports associations - Professional football - Private law entities vested with regulatory, control and decision-making powers, and the power to impose sanctions - Rules on prior approval of competitions, on the participation of football clubs and players in those competitions, and also on the exploitation of commercial and media rights related to those competitions - Parallel pursuit of economic activities - Organisation and marketing of competitions - Exploitation of related commercial and media rights - Article 101(1) TFEU - Decision by an association of undertakings adversely affecting competition - Concepts of anticompetitive ‘object’ and ‘effect’ - Exemption under Article 101(3) TFEU - Conditions - Article 102 TFEU - Abuse of dominant position - Justification - Conditions - Article 56 TFEU - Restrictions on the freedom to provide services - Justification - Conditions - Burden of proof)

(C/2024/2271)

Language of the case: Spanish

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: European Superleague Company SL

Defendants: Fédération internationale de football association (FIFA), Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)

Intervening parties: A22 Sports Management SL, Real Federación Española de Fútbol (RFEF), Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (LNFP)

Operative part of the judgment

must be interpreted as meaning that the adoption and implementation of rules by associations which are responsible for football at world and European levels and which pursue in parallel various economic activities related to the organisation of competitions, making subject to their prior approval the setting up, on European Union territory, of a new interclub football competition by a third-party undertaking, and controlling the participation of professional football clubs and players in such a competition, on pain of sanctions, where there is no framework for those various powers providing for substantive criteria and detailed procedural rules suitable for ensuring that they are transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate, constitutes abuse of a dominant position.

must be interpreted as meaning that the adoption and implementation, directly or through their member national football associations, of rules by associations which are responsible for football at world and European levels and which pursue in parallel various economic activities related to the organisation of competitions, making subject to their prior approval the setting up, on European Union territory, of a new interclub football competition by a third-party undertaking, and controlling the participation of professional football clubs and players in such a competition, on pain of sanctions, where there is no framework for those various powers providing for substantive criteria and detailed procedural rules suitable for ensuring that they are transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate, constitutes a decision by an association of undertakings having as its object the prevention of competition.

3.Article 101(3) and Article 102 TFEU

must be interpreted as meaning that rules by which associations which are responsible for football at world and European levels and which pursue in parallel various economic activities related to the organisation of competitions make subject to their prior approval the setting up, on European Union territory, of interclub football competitions by a third-party undertaking, and control the participation of professional football clubs and players in such competitions, on pain of sanctions, may benefit from an exemption to the application of Article 101(1) TFEU or be considered justified under Article 102 TFEU only if it is demonstrated, through convincing arguments and evidence, that all of the conditions required for those purposes are satisfied.

4.Articles 101 and 102 TFEU

must be interpreted as

not precluding rules laid down by associations which are responsible for football at world and European levels and which pursue in parallel various economic activities related to the organisation of competitions, inasmuch as they designate those associations as being the original owners of all of the rights emanating from competitions coming under their ‘jurisdiction’, where those rules apply only to competitions organised by those associations, to the exclusion of those which might be organised by third-party entities or undertakings;

precluding such rules in so far as they confer on those same associations an exclusive power relating to the marketing of the rights at issue, unless it is demonstrated, through convincing arguments and evidence, that all of the conditions required in order for those rules to benefit, under Article 101(3) TFEU, from an exemption to the application of Article 101(1) TFEU and be considered justified under Article 102 TFEU are satisfied.

must be interpreted as precluding rules by which associations which are responsible for football at world and European levels and which pursue in parallel various economic activities related to the organisation of competitions make subject to their prior approval the setting up, on European Union territory, of interclub football competitions by a third-party undertaking, and control the participation of professional football clubs and players in such competitions, on pain of sanctions, where there is no framework for those rules providing for substantive criteria and detailed procedural rules suitable for ensuring that they are transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate.

(1) Language of the case: Spanish.

ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/2271/oj

ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)

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ECLI:EU:C:2025:140

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