Barça fans miss on EU court bid over Messi’s PSG transfer

FC Barcelona fans tried to get a European Union court to take action against star footballer Lionel Messi’s 2021 transfer to rival club Paris Saint-Germain. But they failed to score as the General Court rejected their bid Wednesday.

Fan group Penya Barça Lyon: More than supporters went to court to try to compel the European Commission to take action against the French Football Association and probe alleged state support for PSG which they claim helped fund the multi-million euro transfer package that lured him away from Barcelona.

Judges in Luxembourg weren’t sympathetic. The fans aren’t PSG’s economic rivals, they said, nor can they claim to be an "interested party" in defense of the values of football and sport as a common good since they don’t show how the alleged harm affects them personally. The court also said that "it has no jurisdiction to issue injunctions" to order European Union institutions to take action as the fans want.

The ruling backs the Commission’s refusal to accept complaints over the transfer.

Messi’s transfer fueled a debate on top clubs’ efforts to form a breakaway league that’s spilled over to the EU courts. The Court of Justice should rule this year on whether football’s governing bodies can rein the clubs in.

The case is T-538/21 PBL and WA v Commission.