Following a meeting with representatives of G14 on the current financial problems facing national football leagues in the wake of recent media collapses, European Sport and Culture Commissioner Viviane Reding said: "The commission will ensure that any proposed solutions are in accordance with EU rules, and social responsibility is one of those rules.''
The comment is doubly relevant to G14 since the clubs are considering selling the media rights to their UEFA Champions League matches individually rather than as a group - a move that could be set in motion by the European Commission's current examination of UEFA's Champions League broadcast deal with the TV companies.
Reding said she expects the commission to make a decision on the legality of UEFA's collective deal with the TV companies before the summer. If the ruling prohibits UEFA from selling the rights on behalf of the clubs, the major clubs from major markets could realise even greater revenues from the competition - at the expense of clubs from less lucrative TV markets.
The G14 group of Europe's richest clubs has been told by the EU that its smaller rivals must be considered if changes are made to how revenue is distributed among national leagues.
