Battle lines drawn: European Super League sends cease and desist letter to UEFA

A22 Sports Management on Wednesday said it has asked UEFA to cease what it refers to as UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin and others’ “constant and unacceptable denigration” of its reputation in the media. It also asserted that UEFA is exerting pressure on clubs to keep them from taking A22’s recommendations into consideration. A22 on Wednesday revealed a letter they sent to UEFA asking for the immediate cessation of anti-competitive behaviour.

Since 12 teams first declared themselves to be founding members of the Super League in April 2021, Ceferin and LaLiga president Javier Tebas have been the project’s most vocal opponents.

Even although the European Court of Justice ruled last month that the previous authorization rules, which UEFA had utilized to prevent the league three years earlier, were illegal under EU law, the criticism has persisted.

What does the letter say?

To counter that, A22 on Wednesday revealed a letter it has sent to to the UEFA on Tuesday.

“Since April 2021, UEFA’s anti-competitive behaviour and actions towards A22 (supported by a number of domestic federations and leagues acting in a co-ordinated manner with UEFA) have been targeted to frustrate the business initiatives of A22,” the letter, posted on A22’s X account, read.

“They include the constant and unacceptable denigration of A22’s reputation in the media and elsewhere and the pressuring and threatening of European clubs behind the scenes to prevent them from considering potential projects involving A22 and to push them to announce their public support of UEFA competitions.

Der UEFA-Präsident hat sich heute öffentlich über einen Brief geäußert, in dem wir die UEFA auffordern, sich an EU-Gesetze und Gerichtsurteile zu halten. Da wir einen transparenten Dialog über die Zukunft des europäischen Klubfußballs führen, veröffentlichen wir hiermit den… pic.twitter.com/8nauUuuLwl
— A22 Sports (@A22Sports) January 31, 2024

“Continued anti-competitive actions taken by UEFA with the ultimate goal to exclude competitors like A22 from the European market for interclub competitions are illegal and will compound the already substantial damages incurred by UEFA as a result of its prior actions,” the letter said.

Will UEFA budge after this development? This looks set to be a long drawn out battle.