UEFA has abandoned its disciplinary case against the three rebel Super League clubs, declaring the proceedings "null and void".
European football's governing body announced in May it was opening a case against Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus for a "potential violation" of its legal framework amid their continued support for the Super League project.
The case was paused in June until further notice following a ruling from a Madrid court and has now been closed by UEFA's independent appeals body.
UEFA also said it would not request payments from the nine other clubs that withdrew from the project. Potential fines and a collective €15million "goodwill fund" formed part of the agreement announced in May that saw Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, Inter, Milan and Atletico Madrid rejoin UEFA competitions.
On Monday, UEFA said in a statement: "UEFA understands why the disciplinary proceedings are declared null and void. UEFA has always acted in good faith and reasonably understood that the decision by its independent disciplinary body, the UEFA Appeals Body, to suspend the disciplinary proceedings was in full compliance with the Court Orders of the Madrid Commercial Court No. 17, and given that the three mentioned clubs have since been admitted to UEFA club competitions.
"UEFA maintains its view that it has always acted in accordance with not only its statutes and regulations, but also with EU law, the European Convention on Human Rights and Swiss law in connection with the so-called Super League project. UEFA remains confident in and will continue to defend its position in all the relevant jurisdictions.
"In relation with the Club Commitment Declarations UEFA received in May 2021 from nine of the 12 clubs that acted as founders of the so-called European Super League project, and with which such nine clubs had informed UEFA of their unilateral decisions to withdraw from the so-called Super League project, UEFA has informed the nine clubs that in view of the pending Court proceedings in Madrid, and to avoid any unnecessary complication, UEFA will not request payment of any of the amounts offered in the May Declarations of the clubs, as long as the Court proceedings in Madrid involving, among others, UEFA are pending."
Barca, Madrid and Juve have refused to renounce the Super League despite the intense backlash from the football world that prompted the nine other clubs to withdraw from the plans.
Bianconeri president Andrea Agnelli wrote to club shareholders to describe the Super League as a means of "guaranteeing stability for the football industry".
Agnelli said it was "a new meritocratic paradigm and a return to the fundamentals of cost control and transparency".
Callum McGregor hopes Ange Postecoglou sticks with Celtic
Skipper Callum McGregor believes Ange Postecoglou will leave Celtic on the highest of highs if Tottenham’s reported interest in the Hoops boss comes to fruition.
The Parkhead club clinched an eighth domestic treble – a world record – with a 3-1 Scottish Cup final win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Hampden Park.
Afterwards, Postecoglou refused to commit himself to Celtic for next season and McGregor was asked about the former Australia manager’s accomplishment of the clean sweep in Scotland which brings another entry into the Champions League next season, amid strong speculation about his future.
McGregor, who has now won the treble five times with the Parkhead club, said: “That’s what he always wants to speak about, how well he can build the group, how successful you can be, how together you can be.”
The Hoops captain, who said his personal haul of medals “is something I am proud of, you want to be a winner” added: “We hope he stays and we hope to see him in pre-season.
“In football you never know but if that is a parting gift then what a way to go.
“Of course (we hope he stays). You deliver that much success at the club in such a short space of time.
“You turn things around, you look at the togetherness of the group, it is fantastic and that starts from him.
“That is the message he sets every day so of course we understand he will be linked with big jobs which he has been but selfishly, as players and as a club, we want to keep him as long as we can.”
Asked if he was braced for Postecoglou’s departure, McGregor said: “We don’t know.
“In football there is always speculation, there is always people being linked and that is a good thing.
“It shows you are doing a good job, it shows the players have done a good job for him and he has done a great job for the club so it is always nice to have that compliment and in football you just never know.
“We celebrate tonight, we have had a brilliant season and we will see what happens.
“In football you deal with whatever comes your way, you have to be flexible, you have to work around these things and as I said selfishly we want to keep him. Hopefully we have him for pre-season.”
Ange Postecoglou wants to savour Celtic’s success, not discuss the future
Ange Postecoglou vowed to enjoy Celtic’s record-breaking treble for as long as he could before someone “drags” him away to focus on other issues as he continued to dodge questions over his future.
Postecoglou is odds-on favourite to take over at Tottenham and refused to give any indication on whether he would be departing Celtic Park after making it five trophies in two seasons with a 3-1 Scottish Cup win over Inverness.
Many Celtic fans fear their manager is London-bound and he would not give any assurances to the contrary.
“I will say to them what I said to the players, let’s enjoy this,” he said. “I deserve to enjoy this, the people around me deserve to enjoy this.
“Whatever other people want to focus on and talk about, I am not going to miss enjoying this moment with this group of people but also I owe it to my family, my friends, all of those closest to me.
“Everyone works hard and makes sacrifices to enjoy these moments. I understand that other people who aren’t invested in it want to ask these questions but for me, right now, the most important thing is that we reflect and just be in the moment of creating something special.”
When it was pointed out that fans who are heavily-invested in Celtic are among those asking the questions, the 57-year-old said: “Yeah, but they deserve to enjoy this moment because, irrespective of what happens in the future, why would you not want to enjoy this moment just for what it is? It’s something historic.”
When asked if he anticipated being in Glasgow next season, the former Australia head coach said: “I anticipate enjoying this moment for the next 24-48 hours, as long as I can, before someone drags me away and takes my attention away from enjoying something that’s been hard-earned.
“The reality is, there’s probably players in that dressing room who won’t be here next year. That’s the nature of football.
“But I want them to enjoy it, I am going to enjoy it, and that’s all I am going to focus on until someone grabs me by the collar and tells me that I have to answer certain questions.”
Celtic wrap up treble with Scottish Cup success over Inverness
Celtic clinched the domestic treble with a 3-1 Scottish Cup final win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Hampden Park.
The showpiece occasion was played against the backdrop of mounting speculation around Tottenham’s interest in Hoops boss Ange Postecoglou, who again had Kyogo Furuhashi to thank for his contribution.
The Japan striker struck for the 34th times this season in the 38th minute of an otherwise nondescript first half to undo the good early work of Billy Dodds’ rank outsiders.
The Championship outfit, who had not played a competitive game for a month, fell further behind when Hoops’ half-time substitute Liel Abada slid in a second in the 65th minute.
Caley substitute Dan MacKay pulled a goal back with five minutes remaining, only for Portuguese winger Jota to restore Celtic’s two-goal advantage as the game slipped into six minutes of added time.
It is the eighth time Celtic had completed the clean sweep of League, League Cup and Scottish Cup – a world record – and now eyes turn to see what the future holds for Postecoglou, who is the fifth Parkhead manager to win the treble.
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