Manchester, September 28 (BNA): UEFA has canceled disciplinary measures against Premier League teams such as Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus after a court in Madrid ruled that UEFA would not punish rebellious clubs.
UEFA had opened an investigation against the three clubs, but suspended the proceedings in June after it was informed by Swiss authorities of a court order from the Commercial Court in Madrid obtained by European Super League Company SL, according to Reuters.
The final step taken by UEFA was to announce the cancellation of the measures.
“After stopping the proceedings against FC Barcelona, Juventus and Real Madrid, in the matter relating to a possible breach of the UEFA legal framework in relation to the so-called ‘Premier League’, the UEFA Appeals Body today declared the proceedings null and void. The UEFA Appeals Body said in A statement that “the procedures were never opened and void.
Juventus, Barcelona and Real are the last of the 12 clubs to join the Premier League in April and have not shied away from the separatist project that collapsed when all six English clubs plus Inter Milan, Milan and Atletico Madrid withdrew.
Procedures continued in the Madrid court to prevent UEFA from sanctioning clubs that tried to break away from existing European football structures, including the Champions League.
In July, the 17th Commercial Court in Madrid ordered the dropping of all financial and sporting sanctions against the founding members of the Premier League, including money owed to UEFA by the other nine clubs, which includes six teams from the Premier League, who were initially part from the project.
UEFA said it “remains confident and will continue to defend its position in all relevant jurisdictions”.
“UEFA notes that the announcement by the UEFA Appeals Body follows the formal notification to UEFA of a court order giving UEFA a few days to demonstrate its compliance with the decisions of the Madrid Commercial Court No. 17,” the organization said in a statement. .
In May, the nine rebellious clubs that pulled out of the split, including Manchester United and Liverpool, agreed to pay 22 million pounds ($30.09 million) to UEFA as a “goodwill gesture”.
However, UEFA said on Monday that “in light of the judicial proceedings pending in Madrid, and in order to avoid any unnecessary complications … UEFA will not request payment of any of the amounts offered”.
Plans, announced in April, for the 12 clubs to create the European Premier League collapsed just two days later, as eight of the 12 founding members from England, Italy and Spain abandoned the breakaway project under massive pressure from fans, politicians and football officials.
The Premier League argued that it would increase the revenue of the major football clubs in Europe and allow them to distribute more money to the rest of the game.
However, sports governing bodies, other teams and fan organizations have said the league will only enhance the power and wealth of elite clubs, and that the partially closed structure goes against the old European football model.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has continued to say the plan remains a viable way forward for Europe’s top clubs, and Juventus president Andrea Agnelli on Monday wrote to the club’s shareholders and outlined his club’s support for the plans.
“This is a new model of meritocracy and a return to the basics of cost control and transparency,” Agnelli wrote in the letter.
“It is a new paradigm that football can no longer afford to overlook and on the basis of which political dialogue must be resumed,” he added.