MatchVision, led by Chilean sports consultant Leandro Shara, has accused UEFA of unauthorized use of a competition format for club European tournaments.
According to MatchVision, this company developed the hybrid competition system — the so-called league phase, or POT System format, which has been applied in the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League from the 2024/2025 season.
MatchVision claims to have registered copyright on the format in Chile in 2006 and repeatedly presented this idea to UEFA representatives in 2013. However, the format was only implemented 11 years later without proper coordination or licensing. MatchVision demands that UEFA acknowledges its role in creating the format, invites relevant representatives to its events, and concludes a commercial agreement with MatchVision.
For its part, UEFA states that the accusations are unconfirmed or unfounded. The new Champions League format stipulates that 36 clubs are not divided into classic groups but play in a single league mode with 8 matches (4 at home, 4 away) against different opponents. The Swiss system also provides for computer-controlled opponent draws instead of traditional ball drawing.
The total amount of compensation in the MatchVision lawsuit against UEFA is 20 million euros, in addition to which Leandro Shara demands 200,000 euros in personal compensation.
