Review the criteria for allocating resources from the sale of TV rights in the football sector among clubs. The Competition and Market Guarantor Authority requests it, in a report sent to Parliament and the Government, signed by the President Giovanni Pitruzzella.
According to the Antitrust, it is first of all necessary to provide for distribution mechanisms that reward sporting merit more, eliminating the reference to the 'historic' results contained in the legislation in force, which start from the results of the 1946/1947 football season. Even the reference to the catchment area of the clubs, envisaged by the 2008 legislation, is not directly referable to the sporting result, given that the number of spectators that a football club can rely on defies the logic of merit. It is therefore necessary to review the opportunity to maintain this distribution criterion, or at least to further limit its impact with respect to the one that rewards results.
According to the Authority, the profits of a sports club depend on the competitiveness of the competitors: a sporting event is in fact more attractive when there is technical balance between the teams and therefore uncertainty about the result. Therefore, the remuneration of sporting merit would facilitate the achievement of a balance between the participants in the competitions and would stimulate investment in sport also by new entrants. In the current situation, since the share of resources is allocated according to criteria that largely reward the history and reputation of a club, investments aimed at developing smaller clubs to bring them to compete on equal terms do not find adequate remuneration in a reasonable time.
In the opinion of the Antitrust, it is also necessary to identify a third party, other than the Football League, which will proceed with the distribution of the economic resources deriving from the sale of TV rights, to ensure greater fairness and impartiality. The League, as it is made up of bodies in which representatives of the individual teams sit, does not in fact represent the subject in the best position to dictate the rules for allocating resources, given that some clubs could find themselves in a position to influence these choices to their advantage. The distribution of the proceeds deriving from the sale of television rights, regardless of the specific marketing mechanism adopted, should therefore be carried out by a subject detached from the economic interests of the football clubs, and carried out with a view to guaranteeing the necessary flexibility and competitiveness of the entire football system.
