Aigner thanks EC for support

A letter of "appreciation and thanks" today from UEFA Chief Executive Gerhard Aigner to European Commissioner Mario Monti marked another significant chapter in mutual understanding between the two ruling bodies.

Complaint rejected
Following last month's TV rights agreement for UEFA Champions League football, the EC last week rejected a complaint by British sports and entertainment group ENIC Plc, which has stakes in six clubs, that UEFA's so-called "multi-ownership" rules distorted competition.

Paris Saint-Germain affected
The rules say that no two clubs or more taking part in a UEFA club competition may be directly or indirectly controlled by the same entity or managed by the same person. Last year French television group Canal Plus officially reduced their majority stake in Servette FC of Geneva in order to allow Paris Saint-Germain FC to compete in the UEFA Cup.

'Integrity of the competition'
"The main purpose of the UEFA rule is to protect the integrity of the competition - in other words, to avoid situations where the owner of two or more clubs participating in the competition could be tempted to rig matches," said Mr Monti, the Competition Commissioner. In the case of the UEFA multi-ownership rule, the Commission established that the purpose of the rule was not to distort competition, but to guarantee the integrity of the competitions it organises."

Six clubs
ENIC had considered that the UEFA rules distorted competition by preventing and restricting investment in European clubs. ENIC own stakes in six clubs including 25.1 per cent of Rangers FC, 29.9 per cent of Tottenham Hotspur FC and 47 per cent of AEK Athens.

'Very satisfied'
In his letter to Mr Monti, Mr Aigner said: "We are very satisfied that the Commission has recognised that the measure which we took is both a legitimate sporting rule and a proportionate one.

'Mutual understanding'
"From our perspective, and especially following on the settlement of the UEFA Champions League case last month, we feel this represents another important step forward in the development of good mutual understanding between UEFA and the European Commission. 

'Particular characteristics'
"We have, in recent years, taken particular care to ensure that in all UEFA activities we take account of and respect European Community law.  We are pleased to note, therefore, that in applying Community law to sport, the European Commission is also demonstrating a willingness and ability to take the particular characteristics of our sector into account."