February 9 – The European Court has ruled against a Barcelona fan group in France that demanded the European Commission investigate whether Paris Saint-Germain unfairly signed Lionel Messi.
The court in Luxembourg decided that the European Commission does not have to accept the group as an interested party and is not obligated to open an investigation into the complaint of alleged unlawful state aid to PSG.
The demand was presented in October by a supporters group in Lyon sharing the same views as La Liga when it comes to containing the free spending of state-owned clubs like PSG and United Arab Emirates-backed Manchester City.
The group went to court to try to compel the European Commission to take action against the French Football Association and investigate alleged state support for PSG which they claim helped fund the multi-million deal that lured Messi away from Barcelona.
But the Luxembourg judges ruled the fans were not PSG’s economic rivals and that they had “no jurisdiction to issue injunctions”.
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