Six
English teams are expected to be part of plans for a breakaway European
Super League, with an announcement due on Sunday night, Sky News
understands.
Among the English clubs involved are Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal
and Chelsea.
The project has been launched to rival UEFA's Champions League format which
currently dominates European football.
Sky News' City editor Mark Kleinman said: "My understanding is that 12 clubs
from across Europe including the six biggest English clubs have now signed
up to this new format. The others include Barcelona, Juventus and Real
Madrid."
Kleinman added: "The new league includes staggering sums of money that will
be handed to the participating clubs. About $5billion has been committed to
this new project by the American bank JP Morgan.
"And this will come after European clubs' finances have been hard-hit by the
coronavirus pandemic which is one of the reasons why so many of Europe's
biggest clubs have decided that now is the right time to form a European
Super League after years of on/off discussions about such a project."
Masters: Premier League cannot support
Super League concept
The Premier League's chief executive Richard Masters has written to all 20
of the league's clubs in England to state its opposition to the new project.
Mr Masters told the 20 that "this venture cannot be launched without English
clubs and we call upon any club contemplating associating themselves or
joining this venture to walk away immediately before irreparable damage is
done".
"We do not and cannot support such a concept," Masters' memo read.
"Premier League rules contain a commitment amongst clubs to remain within
the football pyramid and forbid any clubs from entering competitions beyond
those listed in Rule L9, without Premier League board permission.
"I cannot envisage any scenario where such permission would be granted."
The move to create a rival league is being seen by some in football as a
surprise after the European Club Association (ECA), which represents 246 of
the continent's leading clubs, gave their backing to UEFA's reforms.
UEFA has proposed an increase to 36 from 32 teams in the Champions League,
and an overhaul of the group stage into a single table rather than the
current groups of four clubs.
Teams would play 10 matches each in the group stage rather than the six they
currently play and a playoff round would also be introduced before the last
16.
There have been reports of a plan for a breakaway league for a number of
years and the speculation returned in January with several media reports
that a document had been produced outlining the plans for a 20-team league.
Those reports led FIFA and UEFA to warn they would ban any players involved
in a breakaway from playing in the World Cup or European Championship.
Premier League appeal 'undermined' by
European Super League
The Premier League has hit out at the plans for a breakaway European league,
releasing the following statement: "The Premier League condemns any proposal
that attacks the principles of open competition and sporting merit which are
at the heart of the domestic and European football pyramid.
"Fans of any club in England and across Europe can currently dream that
their team may climb to the top and play against the best. We believe that
the concept of a European Super League would destroy this dream.
"The Premier League is proud to run a competitive and compelling football
competition that has made it the most widely watched league in the world.
Our success has enabled us to make an unrivalled financial contribution to
the domestic football pyramid.
"A European Super League will undermine the appeal of the whole game, and
have a deeply damaging impact on the immediate and future prospects of the
Premier League and its member clubs, and all those in football who rely on
our funding and solidarity to prosper.
"We will work with fans, The FA, EFL, PFA and LMA, as well as other
stakeholders, at home and abroad, to defend the integrity and future
prospects of English football in the best interests of the game."
UEFA vows to prevent European Super League
from happening
In a joint statement with national governing bodies and top-flight leagues
in England, Italy and Spain - UEFA has robustly condemned the plans being
discussed by some of the continent's elite clubs, stressing that the
organisations will remain united in opposing the "cynical" initiative, and
will use all methods available to them, including legal action, to prevent
the scheme from being put into practice.
European football's governing body also stipulates that teams involved in
such a league would not be allowed to participate in other "domestic,
European or world level" competitions and that players may be stopped from
representing their countries.
UEFA has also praised clubs in France and Germany who, according to the
governing body, have refused to take part in discussions over a European
Super League concept.
A full statement read: "UEFA, the English Football Association and the
Premier League, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and LaLiga, and
the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) and Lega Serie A have learned that a
few English, Spanish and Italian clubs may be planning to announce their
creation of a closed, so-called Super League.
"If this were to happen, we wish to reiterate that we - UEFA, the English
FA, RFEF, FIGC, the Premier League, LaLiga, Lega Serie A, but also FIFA and
all our member associations - will remain united in our efforts to stop this
cynical project, a project that is founded on the self-interest of a few
clubs at a time when society needs solidarity more than ever.
"We will consider all measures available to us, at all levels, both judicial
and sporting in order to prevent this happening. Football is based on open
competitions and sporting merit; it cannot be any other way.
"As previously announced by FIFA and the six Federations, the clubs
concerned will be banned from playing in any other competition at domestic,
European or world level, and their players could be denied the opportunity
to represent their national teams.
"We thank those clubs in other countries, especially the French and German
clubs, who have refused to sign up to this. We call on all lovers of
football, supporters and politicians, to join us in fighting against such a
project if it were to be announced. This persistent self-interest of a few
has been going on for too long. Enough is enough."
In January, FIFA had said that a breakaway league would not be recognised
and that "any club or player involved in such a competition would as a
consequence not be allowed to participate in any competition organised by
FIFA or their respective confederation" - meaning players would be banned
from the World Cup.
FA: European Super League idea is damaging
The Football Association has indicated it will not grant any approval for
any team to join such a league and says it will work with FIFA and the
aforementioned bodies to ensure the "integrity" and "future" of the game is
preserved.
A statement read: "The FA has been made aware of certain English clubs
planning to form a closed European Super League with other European clubs.
It is clear that this would be damaging to English and European football at
all levels and will attack the principles of open competition and sporting
merit which are fundamental to competitive sport.
"For new competitions to be formed involving clubs from different
associations, approval would be required from the relevant National
Associations, confederation and/or FIFA. We would not provide permission to
any competition that would be damaging to English football, and will take
any legal and/or regulatory action necessary to protect the broader
interests of the game.
"We note FIFA confirmed earlier this year that they and the six
confederations would not recognise any such competition and, as such, any
player or club involved may not be permitted to participate in any official
competition which falls within the auspices of FIFA or their respective
confederation.
"The FA will continue to work with UEFA, FIFA and the Premier League to seek
to ensure that nothing is approved that he has the potential to damage
English football. We will work with fans, The Premier League, EFL, PFA and
LMA, as well as other stakeholders, at home and abroad, to defend the
integrity and future prospects of English football in the best interests of
the game."
Neville: Deduct points off the six Premier
League clubs
Sky Sports' Gary Neville:
"I'm not against the modernisation of football competitions, with have the
Premier League, we have the Champions League. But to bring forward proposals
in the midst of COVID, in the midst of the economic crisis that exists for
all clubs is an absolute scandal.
"United and the rest of the big six clubs that have signed up to it against
the rest of the Premier League should be ashamed of themselves.
"European Super League? Are Arsenal in that? They have just drawn with
Fulham, Manchester United are drawing with Burnley. I cannot concentrate on
the game. To sign up to the Super League during a season is a joke, they
should deduct points off all six of them."
Roy Keane and Micah Richards believe the
announcement on the European Super League is down to pure greed and would be
damaging to football across the board.
Sky Sports' Roy Keane:
"It comes down to money, greed, it doesn't sound good. Let's hope it's
stopped in its tracks because it's pure greed. We talk about the big clubs,
Bayern Munich are one of the biggest in the world, at least they have made a
stand, which is a start."
Sky Sports' Micah Richards:
"The Premier League has been run amazingly, and clubs are businesses and
investments. But what happens to the fans, the memories of what the fans
have had over the years?
"Are they to be forgotten about for the sake of money? That's what football
has become now, it's an absolute disgrace."
New Champions League format decision due
on Monday
A new 36-team Champions League format from 2024 is set for final approval by
UEFA's executive committee on Monday.
A decision had initially been expected on March 31 but was delayed due to
some clubs within the European Club Association seeking a greater say on
commercial matters for the new competition.
However, meetings of the ECA board and of UEFA's club competitions committee
on Friday have cleared the way for the new format to be rubber-stamped. It
is understood the differences which led to the first delay have been set
aside rather than resolved.
The expanded format is a cause of concern for the Premier League and many
other European domestic competitions, while fans' groups wrote an open
letter to ECA chairman Andrea Agnelli criticising it on Friday morning.
European football's governing body will also make a final decision on host
venues for Euro 2020, with Bilbao, Dublin and Munich the three yet to be
confirmed of the original 12.
The Champions League executive committee will vote on whether to do away
with the current group system - where 32 teams are split into eight pools of
four - and replace it with one 36-team league.
Each team plays 10 matches on a seeded basis - four more than in the current
group phase - in a so-called 'Swiss model', previously described as "ideal"
by Agnelli in part because it allows the flexibility to add even more
matches in the future.
The new format takes the Champions League from 125 to 225 matches, which
would create a huge headache for domestic schedulers. EFL chairman Rick
Parry says it would be a "major threat" to the Carabao Cup and the Football
Association also wrote to UEFA to express its concerns.
The encroachment of the competition into January - usually kept free for
domestic club football - is understood to be another concern for the Premier
League.
The league's top eight would qualify automatically for the last-16 knockout
stage, with the teams finishing ninth and 24th playing off for the remaining
eight places.
The allocation of two of the extra four places to sides based on previous
European performance has also proved controversial.
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