– I fear serious consequences for the whole sport. That the whole foundation of our sports model is weakened. This is what the football president says about the fateful trial that European football is facing. In July, the players behind the controversial Superligaen will meet in the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, where they are fighting to violate Fifa’s exclusive right to arrange football tournaments. The company European Super League (ESL) claims in its lawsuit that Fifa and Uefa have acted as a cartel, and abused their dominant market position both in club tournaments and for commercial rights related to the tournaments. PROTESTS: The Super League was not necessarily very popular with football fans. Here from a demonstration by Chelsea fans. Photo: Matt Dunham / AP If the super league is successful, it can potentially have major consequences, also for national team football. You can probably also look far for Norwegian teams in European tournaments, as there are only five vacancies for teams other than the twelve founders. – The football map will definitely change radically – and that is not for the positive, says Klaveness. Denmark, Sweden and Germany state In the trial, several of the UEFA nations will be represented. 19 countries will hold speeches in the trial, which takes place on 11 and 12 July. Denmark, Sweden and Germany are among the countries that are running, but so far it is not planned that any Norwegian representative will show up. CONCERNED: Lise Klaveness. Photo: Fredrik Varfjell / NTB – I hope we have reached (to the government). I can not stress enough how much it means politically to be able to stand together, Norwegian sports and Norwegian authorities, in this, says Klaveness. She has expressed a strong wish that the Norwegian government, through Minister of Culture Anette Trettebergstuen, show up, but she has so far been rejected by the Ministry of Culture. – What I think about the fact that they have so far said no, I will not say anything about. They are completely free to consider it, but I strongly hope that they meet. It is important for Norwegian sports, Klaveness believes. – This is a comprehensive case, so I hope they can find motivation and resources now, she adds. Countries present at the hearing Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Estonia Denmark France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Malta Poland Portugal Romania Slovenia Spain Sweden Therefore, Norway does not currently provide news has been in contact with the Ministry of Culture. Minister of Culture and Gender Equality Anette Trettebergstuen has not had the opportunity to comment on the case. State Secretary Gry Haugsbakken says that as it is now, they will not participate in the EU consultation. – Both we and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been in contact with Sweden, which has confirmed that they will participate and submit oral submissions. It is our assessment that Sweden will aim for the same principled views that we are concerned about and will convey that Norway is behind it, Haugsbakken says in an e-mail to news. REQUEST FROM KLAVENESS: Anette Trettebergstuen has so far not fulfilled Klaveness’ wish to make a statement in the Superliga case. Photo: Javad Parsa / NTB They explain the decision as follows: – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has further considered that the central issue for the European Court of Justice in such a case will be the quality of the arguments put forward and not the quantity. The European Court of Justice itself is concerned with avoiding double treatment as much as possible. Therefore, we are completely confident that the arguments that are important to the NFF, and which we fully support, will be presented to the European Court of Justice during the hearing. The ministry also writes that they fully support Klaveness and NFF in the case against the Super League. – We do not want a super league where wealthy clubs break with the rest of the football family. We want to preserve a sports model that is based on sporting results and an open, fair competition. A model that also redistributes funds for the development of children’s, youth and grassroots football this, says the State Secretary. Uefa letter to NFF And there is no doubt that Uefa has a strong desire for Norway and NFF to appear. In a letter Uefa has sent to the NFF, they emphasize the importance of Norway as a football nation and what consequences a possible Superliga victory can have for Norwegian football. “As we see it, it will lead to the death of NFF’s domestic competitions. Qualification of Norwegian clubs for European competitions will in practice cease, and it will result in lower interest, and therefore the value of national tournaments will be strangely (and perhaps dangerously) reduced “, the letter states. CONCERNED: Uefa and President Aleksander Ceferin warn NFF about the consequences of a possible Super League. Photo: LEONHARD FOEGER / Reuters Uefa also receives support from the European Commission, which says in its assessment that the financial benefits the Super League teams will receive will create a great competitive advantage compared to teams outside. They further say that there will be a threat to an open and fair competition. 12 big clubs against Uefa It was in April 2021 that twelve clubs shocked the football world and announced the news of the Super League – a breakaway league that will challenge Uefa and Fifa’s model. The twelve clubs behind the Super League are Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, Juventus, AC Milan, Inter, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal. THE BREAKERS: These are the twelve founders of the Super League. Both Milan and Chelsea have gained new owners since then. Photo:[franck Fife / AFP Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus, with their presidents at the helm, are still tough on their case in public. The remaining clubs withdrew from the project shortly after the news broke, but all twelve clubs are still listed as players in the company ESL. Thus, all the clubs are behind the lawsuit against Uefa. It is not until September that the prosecution will state its opinion and present its case in the European Court of Justice.
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