The Dirty Dozon of football and Anti-trust

Abstract

One of the notable perks of being an academic is the ability to not only combine business and pleasure, but also to take an interest in cases that, for political or practical reasons, are unlikely to come about. An anti-trust investigation into the planned creation of a new European football league, called the Super League, merges all of these. Not only because it involves anti-trust and football, but also because it appears less likely that any cases will emerge. It is not that they are unwarranted, but rather, for more substantial reasons. Primarily because the project looks dead on arrival, as clubs are starting to renege on their earlier promises of support. Equally important, no (sane) enforcers would freely meddle with issues and questions that are guaranteed to alienate somebody (if not everybody), providing very little incentive to intervene unless compelled to do so. This should not prevent us, however, from exploring the matters including any potential anti-trust issues embedded in the plans for a new football league.

Keywords: Article 101, football, Super League

JEL Classification: K21, L12, L13, L22, L40, L41