It was a moment in history. The highest court of the European Union was addressed in Irish for the first time this week by a lawyer representing the Irish government.
The argument over who the rules of football are, took place in the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The government has joined the biggest football cause in a generation that could cut funding for grassroots football and limit the availability of star players for the international team.
Last year, Europe’s biggest clubs, including Real Madrid, Manchester United, Liverpool and Juventus, tried to form their own exclusive league to beat the Champions League. Fans were outraged, with protests outside clubs causing the plan to collapse within 72 hours. Now it is in court.
Meanwhile, the Irish language was granted full status as an official language of the EU on January 1, and this was the first opportunity to make use of the privilege. Dublin-based lawyer, EU law expert and Gaeilgeoir Stephen Brittain had the honor of addressing the court as Gaeilge, as he began: “A Uachtaráin…”
Ireland is not a party to the case, but the implications meant that the Chief State Solicitor’s Office instructed him to present our government’s argument.
Twenty-five EU countries are opposing the Super League in court. Ireland’s opposition to it stems from a desire to prevent sports funding from seeping through from top to bottom. They want competition entry to be based on merit, not money.
The FAI has received €15 million from UEFA since 2004. Mr Brittain argued that the loss of this revenue would have “devastating consequences”.
“With the European Super League, small countries would no longer be able to access the funding to develop football in their country,” he told the court.
In particular, Ireland argues that it would have serious adverse effects on football in Ireland under the Super League.
A fan in the stands holds up a banner to protest the European Super League ahead of the Carabao Cup final at Wembley Stadium, London. Photo: Adam Davy
Mr Brittain is the outgoing Director of the Irish Center for European Law at Trinity College Dublin and has also taught at the University of Limerick. He graduated first class with honors from Trinity, where he later completed a PhD in European law.
He was a committee member of the Irish Society of European Law and a former member of the editorial board of the Irish Journal of European Law. He is a lawyer at the Law Library and also practices in Irish where necessary. A colleague at the Four Courts says his native language fluency comes from his father, an Irish teacher and poet, who is well known among Irish language enthusiasts.
His pace lashed out at the judge. “Mr Brittain, may I ask you to speak more slowly for the interpretation”, asked the presiding judge, Koen Lenaerts, with a smile.
The European Super League company is taking legal action against UEFA and FIFA, alleging football’s governing bodies are monopoly and anti-competitive, unfairly preventing clubs from forming their own leagues.
The European football elite was also tackled by a Corkman named Keane. Not related to Roy, Benoit Keane is a Brussels-based EU lawyer.
Originally from Leeside, he is known for his expertise in competition law in sports. After his law studies at University College Cork, he attended the prestigious College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium.
He has worked as a lawyer in Brussels for the past 20 years and his specialty in EU competition law applicable to sport arose during an investigation into Premier League sales practices.
“Will those big clubs release the players for the Irish team? I doubt it’
He has worked with international sports organizations on a variety of issues ranging from financially fair play to the FIFA World Cup, but the Super League has the most significance for football.
In court this week, Mr Keane was part of the UEFA legal team presenting his case. After opening speeches were held in Spanish on the first day – as the case had started before the Spanish courts – Mr Keane stood in line on the second day to answer questions from the ECJ judges.
While carrying the green flag, he even outlined the dangers to Irish international football from a league set up outside existing structures. Mr Keane said other examples from sports such as basketball should be a “warning” to sports governing bodies, as a super league there closed opportunities over time, hurting smaller leagues.
“A super league allows that organization and those clubs to refuse to release players and I can assure you that it will be small countries that will suffer,” he told the court. “It will be countries like my home country, Ireland, that have some excellent players in the big leagues. But will those big clubs release the players for the Irish team if it takes part in the European qualifiers? I would doubt it.”
Among those Irish internationals at top clubs are Caoimhín Kelleher at Liverpool and Troy Parrott at Tottenham Hotspur, with a batch of underage internationals at clubs like Arsenal, Inter Milan and AC Milan.
There was even a reference to Keane’s birthplace when he emphasized the voluntary nature of football. “They are able to regulate at a national level thanks to the voluntary participation of clubs in towns and cities across Europe, such as my own city in Ireland – Cork,” he said.
The European Super League claims that UEFA and FIFA have a monopoly, preventing clubs from setting up their own tournaments.
UEFA’s defense is that the Super League clubs used “a textbook example of a cartel” as the aim was for wealthy clubs to become permanent members.
UEFA’s lawyers quoted Eric Cantona’s philosophy as saying in their closing speech: “You don’t become a champion without a fight.”
Eric Cantona once said, “You don’t become a champion without a fight.” Martin Rickett/PA Wire.
The case is classic EU competition law area. Europe’s highest court, based in Luxembourg, will decide whether the football board can punish the ‘dirty dozen’ clubs in the Super League.
If the big clubs win, the specter of the leading group may return. A preliminary opinion is to be issued on 15 December, which will provide the first indications for the thinking of the ECJ.
Coincidentally, that’s the 27th anniversary of the Bosman ruling, which rocked football and changed the transfer market in the 1990s, dramatically increasing players’ wages.
That case changed football and the stakes are just as high now. The final decision is expected in early 2023.