Johnson ready to halt Super League with ‘legislative bomb’
Ministers will use reforms to protect English football after revived push for breakaway by clubs
BORIS JOHNSON is preparing to deliver on his threat of a “legislative bomb” to kill off revived plans for the proposed European Super League, amid claims of a “concerted push” to rekindle the proposals. The Sunday Telegraph understands that officials are examining a change in the law to protect the right of UK football authorities to take firmer action against clubs that join the league, “if they try to resurrect it.”
The Government has already changed work permit rules to effectively prevent foreign players from joining any English clubs that play in a future super league, in a move intended to act as a deterrent to a future breakaway.
Ministers are accelerating plans for a legal change which would effectively disapply existing provisions in competition law to allow the Football Association and Premier League to take punitive action against English clubs that join a breakaway league.
The move is closely linked to the UK’s planned joint 2030 World Cup bid with Ireland, for which Mr Johnson is lobbying for the backing of the Union of European Football Associations, against a rival bid being put together by Spain and Portugal. The Prime MInister was thought to have torpedoed the controversial plans for a breakaway European Super League when news of the proposed competitor emerged in April.
At the time, Mr Johnson claimed he was prepared to “drop a legislative bomb to stop it” if necessary.
The strength of the response to the plans led to the withdrawal of all of the English clubs involved in the proposed league. However, prominent Spanish clubs remained signed up to the plans.
Officials fear that an ongoing case at the European Court of Justice could lead to Uefa being forced to abandon its disciplinary action against the clubs behind the proposed super league, after an earlier order from a Madrid court that ruled in favour of the clubs.
Sources at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said that while, as a result of Brexit, the case would have no formal legal implications for the UK, there appeared to be a new “concerted PR push under way” by those behind the super league, “to have another go, particularly if the three clubs have success in the European courts.”
A source close to Oliver Dowden, the Culture Secretary, said: “Leaving the European Union gave us the freedom to set our own laws and not have European courts decide what’s right for our national game.
“We stood with fans against this hated proposal, and if these European legal cases lead to clubs having another go we will have legislation ready for further action. We remain resolute in blocking this.”
The planned legal change is intended to “back up” the Prime Minister’s threat by “preparing tougher measures to block any future manoeuvres”. It is designed to introduce legal safeguards to prevent a court from overturning the £25 million fines and a deduction of 30 points which the Premier League recently said would be imposed on any clubs attempting a similar project.
Six leading Premier League sides -– Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur – were part of the initial group of 12 clubs that were seeking to establish a new 20-team continental competition “as soon as practicable”.
Speaking after news of the breakaway league emerged in April, Mr Johnson said: “I don’t like the look of these proposals.”
“We are going to look at everything that we can do with the football authorities to make sure that this doesn’t go ahead in the way that it’s currently being proposed.
“I don’t think that it’s good news for fans, I don’t think it’s good news for football in this country.”
‘Leaving the EU gave us the freedom to not have European courts decide what’s right for our game’