Acknowledge the ruling in 5 days: Judge to UEFA on European Super League order

A Spanish judge on Monday asked European football governing
body UEFA to confirm in five days that it will abide by the court’s ruling and
not punish Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona, and Italian stalwarts Juventus
for their involvement in the now-defunct European Super League.

The three clubs are facing a ban from the Champions League
for refusing to renounce the Super League project that was launched by 12 clubs
in April then collapsed within 48 hours, the Associated Press reported.

UEFA put a hold on its disciplinary case against the rebel
clubs after the Spanish court ruled in April that they could not be punished by
Switzerland-based UEFA and FIFA. Their case was also notified by the judge in
Madrid to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. The deadline for
submissions to the court is next month.

Spanish media said the judge wants UEFA to acknowledge on
its website that it recognizes the ruling and that it will abide by it. The
judge said putting the disciplinary case on hold is not enough.

It was not immediately clear what jurisdiction the judge had
to issue the order to UEFA and how enforceable it was.

Ideated and announced by 12 of Europe’s top football clubs,
the ESL was a proposed midweek competition, which was to be governed by its
‘founding clubs’ and would have acted as a rival to the UEFA Champions League.

The 12 clubs who initially joined the league were Manchester
United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Real
Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, AC Milan, and Juventus.

A main feature of the ESL would have been regular matches
between the 12 founding members, ensuring revenue as well as nullifying any
chances of not qualifying to later stages.