<p>GENEVA &mdash; UEFA has opened disciplinary cases against Super League rebels Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus that could lead to bans from the Champions League.</p>
<p>Proceedings are now active for “a potential violation of UEFA’s legal framework," UEFA said Tuesday.</p>
<p>The European soccer body’s statutes include a section on “prohibited groupings” of clubs or leagues forming without UEFA’s permission or outside its control.</p>
<p>The three clubs now being prosecuted by UEFA are the remaining holdouts among 12 founders of the failed Super League project who refused to renounce it.</p>
<p>UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin warned the clubs last month that “if they say we are a Super League, then they don’t play Champions League, of course.”</p>
<p>UEFA gave no timetable for the expected disciplinary cases against the three which have all qualified on merit for the Champions League next season.</p>
<p>Any bans for the clubs — and elevation of other Spanish and Italian teams to replace them — would likely lead to appeals at the Court of Arbitration for Sport and pressure to resolve the cases before next season’s European competitions. The Champions League group-stage draw is on Aug. 26 and matches start on Sept. 14.</p>
<p>The nine clubs who settled with UEFA are: AC Milan, Inter Milan, Atlético Madrid, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Tottenham, plus Champions League finalists Chelsea and Manchester City.</p>
<p>Those clubs agreed to UEFA’s terms to forfeit 5% of their prize money from European competitions in the 2022-23 season and pay a combined 15 million euros ($18.4 million) as a “gesture of goodwill” to benefit children, youth and grassroots football.</p>
<p>For a storied club, a successful season in the Champions League currently earns around 100 million euros ($122.5 million) in UEFA prize money.</p>
<p>The agreement also saw the nine clubs consent to be fined 100 million euros ($122.5 million) if they seek again to play in an unauthorized competition or 50 million euros ($61.2 million) if they breach any other commitments to UEFA as part of the settlement.</p>
<p>The Super League project was publicly launched late at night on April 18 then imploded within 48 hours amid a furious backlash from fans and threats of legislation by the British government.</p>
<p>The three holdouts have begun legal action in a Madrid court against UEFA and world soccer body FIFA. A judge has asked the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg to consider if restrictions on the rebel clubs are breaking European Union laws.</p>
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