UEFA Sued for €20m Over Alleged Use of Chilean Firm’s Competition Format
European football’s governing body UEFA is being sued for more than €20 million by Chilean sports consultancy MatchVision, which accuses it of copying a tournament system it claims to have invented and protected under copyright. Insane, right? Once UEFA is officially notified, it will have 20 working days to file its defence.
MatchVision and its founder, Leandro Shara, argue that UEFA’s revamped “league-phase” system, introduced in 2024 for its club competitions, is based on Shara’s “pots” model, a structure he says he designed in 2006 and registered as intellectual property in Chile. According to the company, the idea was presented to UEFA in 2013 and showcased at several international sports events.
The new UEFA format “Swiss model,” expands each tournament from 32 to 36 clubs. Instead of traditional group stages, all teams appear in one table, each playing eight opponents chosen from seeded pots, which MatchVision claims as its own innovation.
Shara, who describes himself as a specialist in mathematical algorithms for sport, alleges UEFA intentionally renamed and adapted his design without acknowledgment. He is seeking €20,005,551 on behalf of MatchVision, an additional €200,000 personally, and interest covering multiple seasons!