Super League collapses after 6 clubs withdraw
LONDON: The Super League collapsed before a ball was kicked in the European breakaway competition after being abandoned by the six English clubs, leaving the Spanish and Italian participants stranded.
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham throughout on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) deserted the proposal to launch a largely-closed midweek competition amid an escalating backlash from their supporters and warnings from the British government legislation could be introduced to thwart it.
The Super League project was overseen by Real Madrid President Florentino Perez, who also signed up Barcelona and Atlético Madrid in Spain and Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan from Italy. The rival for the UEFA-run Champions League became unviable without the six clubs from the world’s richest league.
The remaining fledgling Super League organization was defiant, blaming “pressure” being applied for forcing out the English clubs and insisting the proposal complied with the law and could yet
be revived in some form.
“Given the current circumstances,” the Super League said in a statement, “we shall reconsider the most appropriate steps to reshape the project, always having in mind our goals of offering fans the best experience possible while enhancing solidarity payments for the en- tirefootball community.”
The English clubs heeded the appeals from UEFA President Aleksander
Ceferin to remain part of the Champions League, which has a qualification criterion based on a team’s performance in the domestic league.
“I said yesterday it is admirable to admit a mistake and these clubs made a big mistake,” he said. “But they are back in the fold now and I know they have a lot to offer not just to our competitions but to the whole of the European game.
“The important thing now is that we move on, rebuild the unity that the game enjoyed before this and move forward together.”
As it became clear Chelsea and City were quitting the Super League, Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson and his teammates posted a message advocating staying within the open European competitions.
Liverpool, which is owned by the Boston Red Sox investment group, eventually issued a statement thanking those inside and outside the club for “valuable contributions” before making the decision to stick within existing structures.
Manchester United defender Luke Shaw also went against his club by tweeting his backing of the existing Champions League minutes before his club’s about-turn.
Tottenham also gave a detailed explanation for why it signed up before backing away.
Chelsea, which is owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, said it only joined the Super League group last week.
The Premier League threatened
to sanction the six rebel clubs and Prime Minister Boris Johnson considered introducing laws to stop them forming a new European competition he called a “cartel.”
Divisions within the Super League clubs also grew with Manchester
City manager Pep Guardiola saying the Super League would damage the integrity and values of sport. Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has also expressed concerns about the actions of his club’s owners.
The Premier League had threatened the six clubs with expulsion if they tried to go it alone in Europe. The other 14 clubs met on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) and “unanimously and vigorously” rejected the Super League plans.