April 18, 2022

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Charlie Stillitano before a football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on July 22, 2017. (Bryan Anselm/The New York Times)

A year has passed since the European Super League was born and it erupted into a two-day footballing supernova filled with angry statements, legal threats and hostility. However, the repercussions of the project are far from over.

In a lawsuit filed this week in New York, a prominent American businessman accused the chairman of European soccer’s governing body of “declaring war” on him to prevent him from staging a series of exhibition matches in North America with three teams: Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus (who remain committed to the idea of ​​an independent European league).

The exchange between promoter Charlie Stillitano and president Aleksander Ceferin arose as part of Stillitano’s labor dispute with Relevent Sports, an event management and marketing company owned by billionaire Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross.

Stillitano was Relevent’s chief executive until his departure in the spring, when he left the company amid a dispute over a pandemic-related pay cut and a non-compete clause Relevent had demanded.

In their lawsuit, Stillitano and his lawyers provided details of a text message he received in which they said Ceferin warned Stillitano that working with all three teams would make him a de facto opponent of UEFA, soccer’s governing body. European that Ceferin directs.

Stillitano said the message came following he sent Ceferin one in which he told him that Relevent, which for a decade under Stillitano’s leadership had organized tournaments and exhibition matches for major European clubs, had banned him from working with any of the event company’s former clients. Stillitano asked Ceferin, whose organization is part of a partnership with Relevent, for a meeting and told him that several teams “including the three that have caused problems with UEFA” had approached him regarding organizing games.

Those teams remain a toxic topic for many European football managers. Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus sued UEFA in Spain over the failure of the Superliga (an action that forced UEFA to suspend disciplinary action once morest the clubs) and are also trying to persuade European regulators that UEFA it is abusing its monopoly position to block their efforts.

The implications of the court’s rulings might lead to significant change in the decades-old organization of football in Europe and new legal fights: UEFA has insisted it will resume its efforts to sanction clubs when it has the legal right. to do it

Ceferin reminded Stillitano of that in his reply.

“I have heard regarding your ‘business’ with the three clubs,” Ceferin replied in the text message, which was included in Stillitano’s lawsuit. “Those clubs have not ’caused problems with UEFA’. They tried to destroy UEFA, football and me personally. It’s a shame you don’t understand. The fact that you work with them means that I, UEFA or anyone with whom I may exert influence will not have any business or private relationship with you until you are on the other side.

Stillitano’s lawyers described Ceferin’s message as “threatening.”

“It became clear that Ceferin and UEFA (and by extension its new partner, Relevent) were declaring war on Stillitano for considering an affiliation with all three teams,” the lawyers wrote.

UEFA recently negotiated a contract with Relevent, having selected the company as a commercial partner to sell broadcast rights to competitions such as the Champions League in North America. The organizations are also discussing the possibility of Relevent hosting an interseasonal competition that would be backed by UEFA.

In an interview on Friday, Ceferin said he was not interested in whether Stillitano had worked with all three clubs, but the very idea that he would, Ceferin said, was enough to end their relationship.

For years, Stillitano moved with ease among European soccer’s elite, building Relevent’s soccer business by using connections and friendships to organize matches for the biggest teams, striking multi-million dollar deals and rubbing shoulders with players. and legendary trainers. However, for months, he has been involved in a dispute with the company over payments and conditions related to his departure in May.

Stillitano says Relevent owes him regarding $1 million in wages and severance payments. Relevent argues that he ended the payments only following Stillitano violated the terms of a non-compete agreement by contacting his clients.

According to the lawsuit, Relevent had been paying Stillitano $650,000 a year until the pandemic hit, when, citing lower income, he decided to lower his minimum payment to $200,000. The company stated that Stillitano agreed to the decline. Stillitano’s lawsuit indicates that the cut was actually a postponement and that he would be paid the rest at a later date.

However, following Stillitano disputed the postponement, the relationship with the company deteriorated to the point that Relevent terminated his contract in May.

Stillitano had little choice following that except to find a new job, his attorneys said. He was not a “rich man,” they wrote in the suit, and therefore he needed to work.