Thursday’s ruling by the European Court of Justice appears unlikely to lead to any changes to the footballing landscape on the continent in the near future, after leagues, clubs, player representatives and fan groups immediately reiterated their opposition to any proposed Super League.

The ruling by Europe’s top court found that UEFA, European football’s governing body, as well as world body FIFA had been “abusing a dominant position” by submitting any new competitions to their prior approval.

Trying to prohibit clubs and players from taking part in those competitions was “unlawful”, the ECJ said.

Yet the ruling did not endorse the Super League, as it recognised the “specific context of professional football”, with the importance of “sporting merit” and of “ensuring a certain level of equal opportunity”.

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