February 16 – England’s big six clubs are resisting a new owners’ charter that was proposed by the Premier League after the collapse of European Super League plans last spring.
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and the two Manchester clubs have rebelled and fought off the new owners’ charter by simply refusing to sign it, reported The Times newspaper.
The charter would compel the big six, who were at the centre of the failed European Super League breakaway plans last April, to commit to qualifying for the Champions League via “current sporting merit”.
Such commitment would be the opposite of the founding principle of the Super League, a closed competition for Europe’s elite clubs. It would also prevent the clubs from benefitting from UEFA’s proposal that will allow two clubs each season to qualify via their European coefficient, based on recent performances in continental competition. It’s perceived – in England in particular – as a back-way door for some bigger clubs to enter European competition if they have underperformed.
The new owner’s charter was not on the agenda in the past two Premier League shareholders’ meetings, suggesting that the charter is now dead and buried, but once again raises integrity questions of England’s leading clubs after they had to backtrack on their plans to join the European Super League after widespread fan protests and universal institutional condemnation.
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