'A television product divorced from the reality of football' - legal experts warn Super League won't get 'free pass' from EU

Breakaway league represents a 'big risk' for the clubs involved

A selection of scarves of the English soccer Premier League teams who are reported to be part of a proposed European Super League, laid out and photographed, in London, Monday, April 19, 2021. The 12 European clubs planning to start a breakaway Super League have told the leaders of FIFA and UEFA that they have begun legal action aimed at fending off threats to block the competition. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

The proposed European Super League is "a television product divorced from the reality of football", and the new structure will encounter serious issues with European Commission regulations — that is the view of experts from the University College Cork (UCC) Centre for Sports Economics & Law.

Dr Declan Jordan, Senior Lecturer in Economics at UCC and Research Associate at the Centre, believes the split from football's established structures, led by 12 'founder members', represents a significant risk for the organisations involved.