European football governing body UEFA has backed away from taking action against the three breakaway Super League clubs after a Madrid court ruled against sanctions.
The UEFA Appeals Body declared on Monday that the proceedings against Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Juventus were nullified. In a statement, the UEFA Appeals Body said, “The proceedings [are] null and void as if the proceedings had never been opened.”
Last week, a Madrid court renewed its demand for UEFA officials to comply with the ruling not to sanction the clubs. The court order led to the European football governing body officially scrapping the disciplinary case on Monday night.
Earlier in June, a Spanish court ordered the UEFA to pause the disciplinary case against the trio — Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Juventus. The three rebellious clubs had refused to renounce the Super League project despite the withdrawal of 9 other teams under intense pressure from the UEFA and fans in April.
The project, which would have upended the sport’s structures and economics, unravelled after nine other clubs backed down when fans and other clubs reacted with fury to the initiative. Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Juventus have refused to buckle.
The trio were the alleged masterminds behind the proposal of forming a breakaway European club competition – dubbed the European Super League – with financial assistance from US investment bank JP Morgan.
The UEFA deems that the trio is in potential violation of UEFA’s legal framework. After the court order, the UEFA said that it would not request the payment of $30.09m, which nine of the breakaway clubs had agreed to jointly pay, to “avoid complications”.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta recently warned that the Super League was “still alive.”
He said that the Super League would mean “financial sustainability for the clubs and it would make the competition more attractive.
In a separate statement on Monday, UEFA signalled its commitment to continue fighting its corner.
The statement said, “UEFA will continue to take all necessary steps, in strict accordance with national and EU law, in order to defend the interests of UEFA and of all football stakeholders.”
