By Andrew Warshaw
December 22 – Not dissimilar to when the concept was first launched back in April 2021, Europe’s main football stakeholders, led by UEFA, have joined forces to denounce ambitious plans for a new version of the European Super League – even though the landscape has changed overnight.
Following the shock European Court of Justice decision that many observers viewed as hammer blow to UEFA in its attempt to kill off the idea once and for all, federations, clubs, leagues and fan groups sided with preserving the status quo and said they would not back the latest incarnation.
At a news conference within hours of the ECJ announcement, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said he had been inundated with messages from those opposed to the potential upheaval of European club football and mocked A22, the company fronting the initiative.
“I have a feeling that A22, now it’s close to Christmas, saw a big, well-decorated box under the tree,” Ceferin told reporters. “They were super-happy (and) started to celebrate. But when you open the box you’ll see that it’s not much inside.”
“It’s really hard to decide if you should be shocked or amused by the show that we have seen. Since it’s close to Christmas I will choose amusement, I am amused by it.”
“We will not try to stop them. They can create whatever they want. I hope they start their fantastic competition as soon as possible, with two clubs,” he added sarcastically, referring to Real Madrid and Barcelona, the only ones still publicly in favour of a Super League.
UEFA will certainly now need to clarify its rules on the authorisation of new competitions in order to comply with EU law but this is something they have been working on anyway. Once the rules are updated, any rival tournament will still need to acquire authorisation from European football’s governing body.
Ceferin conceded that the ECJ judgement would provide “a chance to improve some of the regulations” but added: “Football remains united, which is why all of us stakeholders are speaking together.”
“Three or four (of the original 12 Super League clubs in 2021) were the first to give statements today that they will never join. So even the ones who were there (in 2021) are the first ones to be against.”
FIFA president Gianni Infantino broadly agreed with the comments from his fierce rival at UEFA but stopped short of criticising A22.
”With the greatest respect for the European Court of Justice, today’s judgement does not change anything, really,” Infantino said in a statement.
That was the general consensus across the sport with many experts suggesting the new tournament being proposed was just as restrictive in terms of entry as its previous version, ignoring sporting merit in favour of financial benefit.
Nasser Al-Khelaifi, head of the European Clubs Association and president of Paris St Germain told the same news conference: “Who are A22? What’s their history, what’s their profile? The best club competition in the world is the Champions League. The music itself is a brand. All of us as stakeholders, we’re standing together to protect the ecosystem of football.”
A global fans backlash contributed to the demise of the 2021 Super League before it even got off the ground and Ronan Evain, of Football Supporters Europe, commented: “It’s still the same project that we saw two years ago – the same private, closed, money-driven competition. It’s merely repackaging and recycling a terrible idea with no regard to sporting merit.
“There is no place for breakaways within European football. We were hoping that the circus was behind us. It would be best for European football if they would just give up now.”
Whether that actually happens is a talking point that will go on for some time yet.
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