Will we ever see a European Super League? A recap of the ESL, ISU, and Royal Antwerp cases pending CJEUs decisions

The next instalment of the European Super League (ESL) saga has been set: on 21 December 2023[1], the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) will give its much-anticipated judgment in relation to the breakaway league which sent shockwaves through the football world over a brief few days in April 2021. As Advocate General Rantos said in his Opinion in the case, “the future of European football will turn on the answers given by the Court”.^[2]

The decision will not, however, be the only sporting judgment handed down by the CJEU on 21 December. In addition to the ESL, the CJEU will also deliver its judgments in the cases of International Skating Union v European Commission[3] (ISU) and SA Royal Antwerp Football Club v Royal Belgian FA.^[4]

The ESL and ISU cases both deal with the actions taken by a sports governing body to sanction potential breakaway competitions, were heard consecutively by the CJEU, and received Opinions from the same Advocate General. They were always expected to be delivered together.

The same is not true for the Royal Antwerp case, which concerns the compatibility of UEFA’s Home Grown Player’ (HGP) rules with EU fundamental freedoms, and which was some four months procedurally behind ESL and ISU[5].

Their joint delivery is likely an indication that the CJEU wants to clarify the law around Article 165 TFEU[6], the provision of EU law codifying the specificity of sport, after Advocate General Rantos and Advocate General Szpunar took markedly different approaches in their Opinions in ESL and Royal Antwerp respectively. 

This article briefly recaps the cases pending the decisions.