On Sunday April 18, a news that shook the world and not only football came out in public. 12 of the biggest clubs in Europe came together and agreed on a new competition format called the “European Super League”. These clubs agreed to leave the Champions League, however wished to still compete in their national leagues. In addition, some clubs and presidents resigned from their respective positions to pursue a new role in the new league. Juventus for example quit the ECA and Andrea Agnelli resigned from ECA Chairmanship and from UEFA Executive Committee. However, that did not go according to plan, or did it? What did exactly happen and how should we interpret it? Let’s take a closer look on the events that took place in the last couple of days. This is The Collapse Of The European Super League.
The Withdrawal
Chelsea and Manchester City withdrew from Super League on Tuesday evening, with Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham following shortly afterwards. Which means that all six of the Premier League clubs decided to reverse their decision. Coincidence? A victory for the fans? UEFA paid them to quit? Call it what you want, what matters is that it happened.
Arsenal were the first team to publicly apologize to their fans, while admitting they made a mistake. The statement also said: “We know it will take time to restore your faith in what we are trying to achieve here at Arsenal but let us be clear that the decision to be part of the Super League was driven by our desire to protect Arsenal, the club you love, and to support the game you love through greater solidarity and financial stability”. Here is the full letter:
The news of the Premier League’s “big six” withdrawal was welcomed by everyone opposing the Super League idea. The FA were the first to react saying: “English football has a proud history based on opportunity for all clubs and the game has been unanimous in its disapproval of a closed league. It was a proposition that, by design, could have divided our game; but instead, it has unified us all.” In addition, one of the main “anti ESL” figure, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, was also glad to receive the news.
Last but not least, UEFA president also welcomed the decision by saying that the teams can still make up for their mistake and take part of the Champions League again. Ceferin also said: “I said yesterday that it is admirable to admit a mistake and these clubs made a big mistake. 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.”
The Consequences
The Collapse Of The European Super League. One can’t help but ask what are the consequences of these decisions, not only on the football level but on each of the 12 clubs alone. I personally cannot imagine how the fans of these clubs can trust their board after such a scandal. Despite the apologies that were made, especially from Liverpool, who the owner John W Henry himself recorded the apology today. Will the fans really believe him? Or any other club in that matter, that they were “forced” to join this league for the good of the club and not their own greed?
In addition, as part of the said consequences, LFC’s official global timing partner Tribus ended their partnership with the club in protest over ESL sign up.
For other clubs, such as Manchester United, the effect was different. CEO Ed Woodward announced his exit from the club yesterday, after the ESL plans fell apart.
What Was Missing?
Despite everything that happened, something still smells fishy in the whole situation if you ask me. A group of the biggest football clubs in the world, managed by some of the biggest CEOs and advisors, came together and introduced the ESL idea while “hoping” that other clubs and fans will just come along?
The Collapse Of The European Super League – did it happen because there was no clear strategy? plan? like what’s the trophy going to look like? Who are the referees that will participate? What’s the point if the founders club will participate each year and there is no relegation? What’s the point of competing in the National Leagues for a top 4 spot? There are so many questions and assumptions, that you just start to wonder if that was the plan all along. You know, to get the idea out there, cause chaos and force UEFA to respond while delivering a message that you are after them.
What’s Next For UEFA & FIFA?
With everything being said, we know that UEFA and FIFA are no saints here. The corruption is everywhere, especially in football. We know that fans are given minimal tickets for European finals. We know that UEFA changed the Champions League format to have more matches and generate more money. I, on a personal level don’t think that the Super League is the answer to all of this, however something must change if we want to restore the game to where it was.
Take FIFA for example, the World Cup in 2022 will be played in the winter, rather than summer, for no clear reason except that they sold it basically to Qatar, who by the way did not have the needed infrastructure for it. They had to build stadiums from scratch, while enslaving thousands of workers in unhuman conditions.
I think the only credible response here, just like the UEFA president told the ESL club to admit they made a mistake and apologize, so should they. This cannot continue any longer. The high wages, players prices, agents benefits, TV money… it will blow up in the end. It’s not healthy that a promoted club in the PL will get more money than the CL winner, this is just wrong. The FA, PL and others must admit that they have already ruined football by allowing greed to control them, accept it and either work on fixing it or go home and let someone else try. The new CL format is also not acceptable, we still have work to do!
Is Football A Game Or Business?
This issue was never that clear, in my opinion. Today, us fans are stuck between our love and passion for the game with the greed and mentality of the owners. In some dangerous statements lately, both Perez and Agnelli signalled that a change must come. However, their way of seeing it is different from ours, or mine at least.
Perez clearly stated the other day, that if young people find football matches too long they might have to make them shorter. Really? Just like that? What’s next a halftime show starring Beyonce and Shakira? This is not the Superbowl nor is it an American module to try and implement that along with a salary cap rule and other stupid ideas.
On the other hand, in an interview with “La Repubblica”, Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli said that the ESL project aims to face up to the competition of Fortnite or Call of Duty, who are clearly video games. That alone shows you that they don’t care about football basically. Agnelli also adds in a dangerous statement, that Football is no longer a game but a “business sector”. Do we really want these kind of people controlling our love for the game?
The Reason Behind The German Solidarity
The Collapse Of The European Super League. In the wake of this total collapse, German clubs and specially the DFL stood firm in opposing the Super League concept. Huge part of the reason behind this is simply the Bundesliga’s 50+1 rule, because the fans come first. No clubs from Germany’s top flight are signed up to the European Super League, despite having some of Europe’s biggest and most successful clubs in it. Most clubs in Germany are under the 50+1 rule, which says commercial investors cannot have more than a 49% stake and that fans have a majority of voting rights.
In short, it means that clubs – and, by extension, the fans – hold a majority of their own voting rights. Under German Football League [DFL] rules, football clubs will not be allowed to play in the Bundesliga if commercial investors have more than a 49 percent stake. So you see in Germany there is a cultural resistance because fans still have power. Most of the clubs are managed by former players and legends, instead of some big companies who only treat fans as customers and care about money. You won’t find this elsewhere, especially not in England.
An Alternative Solution
In a recent interview, Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge gave his alternative to the Super League while clearly stating what is going wrong in the world of football. Unlike others, KHR thinks that the Super League will only solve the debts of the clubs without a clear plan for the future.
He also added: “The market exploded after Neymar’s transfer, but we were already on the wrong path and it’s not the fault of UEFA and FIFA. Now we have a big chance to find solutions and return to more rational football.” As a club’s fan myself, I have to admit that despite the times we blamed the board for not spending money on transfers, they were right. The pandemic and economic crisis exposed everyone, that’s why only the solid clubs stood tall.
Final Verdict
The Collapse Of The European Super League, is it just temporary? With everything being said, we have to ask ourselves if football really won today or are we just hiding the real truth. Can we trust our owners after everything they have done? And what will football look like in the near future? We know that for many it’s just a business, but for us true fans it will always remain a pride and passion story. I am glad this nightmare is over for now, however we still need a concrete solution for what’s coming.
I have also written an article explaining how the European Super League was formed, along with all the details you need to understand it better. If you’re interested, click here to be redirected.
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