Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Juventus Turin intend to “persevere” in their efforts to build a quasi-private Super League, competing with the Champions League, despite “relentless pressures and threats” from UEFA, ready for reprisals.
The intimidating press ball has resumed, less than three weeks after the opening of an open war between the European confederation and twelve secessionist clubs, eager to launch a lucrative competition for top names from the Old Continent.
The project may have been abandoned by the majority of its supporters, 48 hours after its formalization due to the international outcry and the sling of supporters it provoked, three diehards continue to promote it more or less openly. At least they haven’t given up.
“We reiterate that, out of respect for our history, our responsibility, our socios, our supporters, for the financial stability of sport and for the good of football, we wish to persevere in the search for solutions, despite the pressures and the incessant threats of the part of UEFA “, unsheathed Real, Barça and Juve on Saturday in a joint statement.
They also regret that their “friends and founding partners of the Super League project found themselves in an inconsistent and contradictory posture after having made a number of commitments with UEFA”, according to the text posted on their sites respective.
UEFA announced on Friday a series of sanctions, particularly financial, of fairly reduced scope, against the nine clubs having announced their withdrawal, after an agreement with the latter who “apologize” and recognize “an error”.
Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Atlético Madrid, Inter Milan and AC Milan, will jointly pay a fine of 15 million euros and give up 5% of their European windfall for a season , in addition to returning to the Association of European Clubs (ECA) that they had left with a bang.
– “Indispensable structural reforms” –
Regarding the three remaining mutineers, the European governing body has announced that it reserves “the right to take any measures it deems appropriate against the clubs which have so far refused to give up” their project. private.
In their press release on Saturday, they believe they have the right to say that “courts have already ruled in favor of the Super League project” against UEFA.
More specifically, the Commercial Court of Madrid had during an emergency procedure “ordered” on April 20 to Fifa and UEFA “to refrain from adopting any measure or action” which disrupts the preparation of the Super League, and had “forbidden” them to take “disciplinary action or sanctions” in this regard.
As early as January, the two bodies had threatened, for example, to ban dissidents from their competitions, which amounted in particular to depriving the players involved in a Super League of Euro and World Cup.
Basically, the three clubs have again defended the merits of their private initiative aimed at “providing solutions to the current unstable situation in the football sector”. “Structural reforms are essential,” they say.
While they are “aware of the various negative reactions” aroused by the project and “ready to review” the proposal as presented, they do not intend to renounce their “mission to provide effective and efficient solutions. viable “.
Since the start of the sling, UEFA has brandished the threat of heavy sanctions, without pressing the red button. If its executive committee does have the power to initiate disciplinary proceedings, via the designation of one or more “inspectors”, it has so far always refrained from doing so despite several meetings.
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