Soccer Football - UEFA Press Conference - UEFA Headquarters, Nyon, Switzerland - December 21, 2023 UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin during the press conference in this screengrab obtained on Zoom UEFA/Handout via REUTERS
MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin mocked the "fantastic" Super League on Thursday, hours after the European Court of Justice ruled that UEFA and FIFA contravened EU law by preventing the league's formation.
The EU court said UEFA and FIFA had used their dominant position by threatening sanctions against the 12 clubs that proposed forming the breakaway European league which led to nine of them withdrawing.
Juventus pulled out later, leaving Real Madrid and Barcelona as the only supporters of the Super League.
"We will not try to stop them. They can create whatever they want," Ceferin told a virtual press conference. "I hope they start their fantastic competition as soon as possible, with two clubs.
"I hope they know what they are doing but I'm not so sure about that. Football is not for sale, we have shown that many times," Ceferin added.
"We see the decision as a chance to improve some of the regulations. But football remains united, the evidence you see all of us stakeholders speaking today at the press conference. We have national governments and institutions behind us."
Ceferin was joined on the call by senior officials including Nasser Al-Khelaifi, President of Paris St Germain and the European Club Association, LaLiga President Javier Tebas and European Leagues President Pedro Proenca.
"There is a stark contrast between the ECJ's press summary and the ruling itself," Ceferin said. "The judgement is actually positive as it embraces the key features of the European football pyramid: open competitions, sporting merit, and solidarity.
"And you have in this press conference its governing body and all recognised stakeholders."
Ceferin pointed out that Thursday's ruling does not give the green light nor approve projects such as the "so-called Super League" as the court did not rule on it specifically.
"They see it as a victory but I don't see it at all," Al-Khelaifi said. "(The ruling) has nothing to do with the Super League. All the stakeholders in Europe are sticking together with the same goal... [The ruling] will just make us better and stronger."
Al-Khelaifi also raised questions about A22, the sports development company which was formed to help set up the Super League. A22 on Thursday proposed a new competition with 64 men's and 32 women's teams playing midweek matches in a league system across Europe.
"Who's A22? That's my question to you, who is A22?" he said. "Where do they come from? What is their history?"
Al-Khelaifi described the Champions League, which was formed in 1992, as the "best club competition in the world".
"The music itself is a brand, right? So you have a brand that already exists for years and years," he said. "Why someone will not be part of it? We are as the clubs proud to be part of it. The dream even to hear the music, it's a dream, an amazing feeling."
(Reporting by Lori Ewing, editing by Ed Osmond)
