FIFA and UEFA have made their stance very clear on the Super League as Ceferin and Gianni Infantino have spoken out against the project.
The world of football has been shaken over the last couple of days after an official announcement was made on Sunday confirming that 12 clubs intended to break away and form their own competition.
It includes virtually all of Europe’s elite such as Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City, Spurs, Arsenal, Juventus, Milan, Inter, Real Madrid and Barcelona with the exception of German clubs and – so far – Paris Saint-Germain.
The idea has been met by a torrent of different opinions from fans, pundits and club representatives and it seems as though a very messy public legal battle could be on the horizon between UEFA and the teams involved.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin took the floor at today’s congress and spoke about the idea after a general comment on the state of football in Europe, with his comments transcribed by MilanLive.
“Football is re-emerging from the crisis that began for the pandemic for more than a year. The organisation of the European Championships will prove it, it will be a big step to recovery. The clubs that consider themselves to be at the top today may once not have been and will not be in the future. Football is dynamic, that’s the beauty,” he said.
On the future of Financial Fair Play: “I have read many places that it will be abolished. I will be clear: it is not so, the FFP will remain but we want to adapt it with respect to the times we are experiencing, it will inevitably undergo changes. Some clubs consider themselves untouchable from this point of view, but this is not the case. If they have acquired prestige and wealth, part of the credit must be given to UEFA.”
The conclusion of Ceferin’s speech is clear: “We have a plan, approved by all of you present, to get out of the crisis and improve our football. While a group of selfish people are killing the beauty of the game and the competition.
“Dynamic football. Having been great does not mean that you will be in the future. What was Manchester United before Ferguson? And where was Juve 15 years ago? The clubs that are thought to be rich and untouchable should remember where they come from. Without UEFA who knows where they would be.
“Thanks Nasser (PSG). You have shown the person you are. Thanks to Rummenige (Bayern), Aulas (Lyon), Jose, from Sevilla, we had a good conversation yesterday. You have time to correct your mistakes. Everyone has the right to make mistakes.
“With these reforms I believe we are building the football of the future… while a few selfish people are trying to kill the beautiful game.”
The position of FIFA is also very clear as Gianni Infantino took to the stage too.
“At FIFA we can only strongly disapprove of the creation of a Super League. It looks like a closed tournament, which moves away from current institutions, leagues, federations, UEFA and FIFA,” he said.
“There is a lot to think about. Clubs that want to take this step would throw everything away for immediate gain. They have to take their own responsibilities. Once the decision is made, everyone has to follow their own path. Either you are inside or you are outside, there is no middle ground, you cannot stay half inside the institutions and half outside.”
freakin uefa and fifa killed football long before
I hate hypocrisy, especially at gianourmous levels like this