(Updated with reaction from the President of the European Parliament)
Brussels, April 19 (EFE). – The European Commission (EC), which this Monday publicly charged against the UEFA Europa League due to “values”, avoided ruling on potential competition problems and suggested that governance-related issues are usually decided in arbitration and national courts.
“Disputes related to the governance of sport are generally resolved in courts of arbitration and national courts,” European Commission Sports Affairs spokeswoman Sonia Gospodinova said at a press conference.
Before that, the Vice President of the European Commission for Lifestyle, the Greek Margaritis Chinas, had set himself against the creation of that competition announced by Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico, Milan, Arsenal, Chelsea, Inter, Juventus and Liverpool. And Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham.
We must defend a values-based European model of sport, based on diversity and inclusion. “ There is no margin to book him for a few rich and powerful clubs that want to strengthen ties with everything that the federations represent, ” Chinas said on Twitter.
At the Foundation’s daily press conference, European Commission spokesmen, who said they followed the news of the creation of this competition through the press, insisted on the same approach, and its extension not only to the Premier League “in particular”. But sport in general.
“Sport, including football, is part of the fabric of society. The commission defends a unique European sports model in various ways. The first principles of this model are independence, openness, independence, solidarity and interdependence between international organizations and federations.”
“ Good governance, based on clearly defined transparency and non-discriminatory rules, is a condition for the independence and self-regulation of sports organizations, ” Gospodinova added.
The spokeswoman, who called on “all parties to take these principles into account when assessing the impact, must preserve these traditions and how people interact with sport, at all levels, which is part of the European DNA.” Suggestion. ‘
However, a spokesperson for the community distanced the European Commission from intervention that goes beyond politics and stressed that “disputes relating to governance in sport are usually best resolved in arbitration courts and national courts.”
The European Commission also did not want to go into details about the potential problems the Premier League could pose hypothetically in competition matters, which relies on Brussels.
“At this stage, in the absence of detailed information, we cannot comment on the proposal as such,” said a spokeswoman for the Competition Commission, Ariana Podesta, at a press conference. She emphasized that governance issues are usually resolved through arbitration or courts. Citizens.
The Foundation’s keynote speaker, Eric Mammer, wanted to draw a line between two issues involved in the controversy of that competition announced by twelve clubs from Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom, which is opposed by UEFA, national associations and leagues from the countries concerned and from other member states such as Germany.
Mamer explained that “one of the things is sports policy, which is the area in which the authority can do a number of things, and another thing is the reaction in terms of competition laws to a very specific project, and you have to clearly distinguish between the two.” .
For his part, the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, has also put himself against the creation of the Premier League through a message on social networks.
“We have to defend the European model of sport. I am against football becoming the exclusive domain of a few rich people, sport should be for everyone.
Equal to / mb / f
(For more information about the European Union on euroefe.euractiv.es)
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