FIFA chief threatens ban for Super League players

PLAYERS involved in any European Super League would be barred from playing international football, according to

FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

Leaked documents published by German magazine ‘Der Spiegel’ revealed that Real Madrid have held talks about setting up a 16-team Super League, including the leading sides from the Premier League.

Threats of a breakaway league have reared up periodically for a number of years, and Infantino (above) said there would be a heavy price for players taking part.

“You are either in or you are out,” he said. “If there are players who don’t play organised football then that encompasses everything – national leagues, confederation competitions, the Euros and the World Cup.

“We have seen for many years these attempts to break away outside of the structures, going back to the 1990s. It is up to us to protect football and come up with solutions that benefit clubs and also the world football community.”

Infantino, meanwhile, defended his role in another of the stories revealed by ‘Der Spiegel’, which alleged Manchester City struck a deal with UEFA in 2014 to avoid a potential Champions League ban for breaching Financial Fair Play regulations.

Infantino, head of UEFA at the time, said: “We were doing our job and saved the system and we saved European club football.”