Champions League

Subject: Champions League

In its decision of 23 July 2003 on the joint selling of the commercial rights of the UEFA Champions League1, the Commission granted an exception from competition rules (Article 101 TFEU) to the UEFA regime centralising the tournament’s commercial rights. One of the decision’s assumptions was the solidarity nature of the mechanism distributing revenues from the rights. UEFA amended these rules to eliminate the solidarity, and consequently it is now access to and success in the competition that defines how the revenues are distributed. It awards more money to stronger clubs, entrenching their position in the Champions League and increasing the competitive gap. It is also detrimental to the standard of competition in the national leagues. The few clubs which benefit from access to and money from the Champions League gain huge financial advantages over their domestic rivals, increasing integrity risks and decreasing the competitive interest of these leagues, contrary to the competition rules and the model for European Football enshrined in EU declarations.

In the light of above:

1. What steps has the Commission taken to review the new UEFA regime in view of the exception granted in this decision?

2. Leaving aside the conditions attached to the decision, what is the Commission’s assessment of the negative impacts of the new regime outlined above?

1 COMP/C.2-37.398, OJ L 291, 8.11.2003, p. 25.

Answer given by Ms Vestager on behalf of the European Commission

(22 January 2019)

In its 2003 UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) Champions League decision, the Commission concluded that joint selling of TV rights by football clubs was an agreement leading to restrictions of competition which could meet the conditions for an exemption under Article 101(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), since it could create substantial efficiency gains; in particular, the Commission considered that such conditions were met since the arrangement proposed by UEFA created a branded league product which was sold in packages through a single point of sale.

In recitals 164-167 of the decision, the Commission examined the solidarity arguments advanced by UEFA, expressed a favourable opinion concerning the solidarity principle and found that for the procedure at the time it was not necessary for the purposes of assessing efficiencies and exempting the notified arrangement to consider the solidarity argument any further.

After the entry into force of Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003, the Commission no longer grants individual exemptions under Article 101(3) TFEU, as was the case in the UEFA Champions League decision. Sports organisations are expected to self-assess the compatibility of their conduct with the EU competition rules.

Therefore, it is primarily for UEFA to assess the compatibility of its new regime with Article 101 TFEU. The Commission has received no formal complaints concerning the new UEFA joint selling arrangement. That said, the Commission and national competition authorities closely monitor the media markets.

⋅1∙ COMP/C.2-37.398, OJ L 291, 8.11.2003, p. 25. | | ( | | )