Super League players face World Cup and Euros ban, warns furious Uefa chief
Uefa’s president, Aleksander Ceferin, has insisted that players who join the new European Super League will be banned from World Cups and European Championships if the breakaway materialises.
Ceferin admitted it was unlikely a ban would come into effect in time for Euro 2020, which starts in June, but left no one in any doubt at his anger at the Super League, which he called a “disgraceful and self-serving proposal from clubs motivated by greed”.
“The players who will play in teams that might play in the closed league will be banned from playing in the World Cup and Euros, so they will not be able to represent their national teams at any matches,” he said. “These cynical plans are completely against what football should be. This idea is a spit in the face of all football lovers and society as well. I’m not going to call them the Dirty Dozen, but …”
He added: “They write in their press release about solidarity, they don’t know ‘S’ about solidarity. They want to be famous. They will be famous in the wrong way.”
However, a statement from players’ union FIFPro on Monday evening said that it would “vigorously oppose measures by either side that would impede the rights of players, such as exclusion from their national teams”.
Meanwhile, Uefa committee member Jesper Moller has claimed Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid will be expelled from the Champions League this week. “The clubs must go, and I expect that to happen on Friday,” he told Danish broadcaster DR. “Then we have to find out how to finish (this season’s) Champions League tournament. There must be one extraordinary executive committee meeting on Friday. I have an expectation that the 12 clubs will be thrown out.”
However, the Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez dismissed that threat as “impossible” and also said the move to establish the breakaway league had been forced upon the 12 clubs.
“Uefa is a monopoly but it needs to be more transparent,” he said. “We want to save football for the next 20 years, it is in a time of serious danger. If you win, you receive €120 to € 130m from Uefa but with the Super League we will earn much more. Many important clubs in Spain, Italy and UK want to find a solution to a very bad financial situation. If there is no audience, small, medium and large clubs will die. They (Uefa) want to make changes for the 2024 Champions League, but if we wait for that we all die.”
Ceferin also suggested it was not impossible that domestic leagues could kick out teams that have broken away. “This is the decision of domestic leagues but we are in contact with them and I’m sure they will do the same sanctions, as we will do within the law of course,” he said.
Earlier Uefa confirmed it would plough on with a revamped 36-club Champions League from 2024 whether or not the European Super League is established. However Ceferin admitted he was blindsided by the announcement on Sunday.
“I’ve seen many things in my life, I was a criminal lawyer for 24 years, so I’ve seen different people, but I’ve never ever seen people like that,” he said. “If I start with Ed Woodward,” he added of Manchester United’s executive vicechairman. “I didn’t have much contact with him but he called me last Thursday in the evening, saying that he’s very satisfied with the reforms, that he fully supports the reforms, and that the only thing he would like to speak about is financial fair play. And obviously he already signed something else.”
Ceferin was even blunter when talking about the Juventus chairman, Andrea Agnelli. “He’s probably the biggest disappointment of all,” he said. “I don’t want to be too personal. But the fact is I’ve never seen a person lie so many times, so persistently. That he did was unbelievable. I spoke with him on Saturday afternoon. He says: ‘These are only rumours. Don’t worry, nothing is going on.’ And then he said: ‘I’ll call you in one hour.’ And he turned off the phone. Next day, we get the announcement. I’ve seen many things in my life but not a situation like that. Obviously, greediness is so strong that all the human values evaporate.”
Earlier Ceferin was asked whether it is right for a player who might have signed with a club years ago to be banned from his national team if that club joins the breakaway. “Yeah, it’s an interesting question, and I think that this is one of the legal questions,” he said.
Ceferin ended his punchy press conference with a final retort to the clubs that have decided to leave. “How can you see all your fans protesting and you don’t care?” he said. “You are full of money anyway, but you want more and more and more. I’ve had enough that football clubs are assets – they are part of our history.”