Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
European football giants, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus have released a joint statement, making it clear they have not given up on the European Super League despite threats of sanctions.
On Friday, Business Post had reported that the Union of the European Football Association (UEFA) has handed sanctions, including financial punishments, to nine of the 12 clubs behind the aborted Super League project.
The governing body of European football said that in a spirit of reconciliation, the nine clubs had agreed to a “Club Commitment Declaration” and accepted a five per cent cut in their European revenue for one season.
The nine clubs – Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid – have also expressed their commitment to UEFA and its competitions.
However, three clubs, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus, did not sign the declaration, leaving UEFA with the rights to take whatever action it deemed appropriate against those clubs that have so far refused to renounce the Super League.
In the statement, the clubs noted that they “have suffered, and continue to suffer, unacceptable third-party pressures, threats, and offences to abandon the project and therefore desist from their right and duty to provide solutions to the football ecosystem via concrete proposals and constructive dialogue.”
They claimed that the line of action is intolerable under the rule of law, explaining that tribunals have already ruled in favour of the Super League proposal, ordering the Federation of the International Football Association (FIFA) and UEFA to, either directly or through their affiliated bodies, refrain from taking any action which may hinder this initiative in any way while court proceedings are ongoing.
They explained that the Super League project was designed jointly by its 12 founding clubs with the aim of providing solutions to the current unsustainable situation in the football industry, to bring financial stability to the entire European football family, currently under the “effects of a deep crisis that threatens the survival of many clubs, and offer fans around the world the best possible show and to reinforce global interest in the sport, which is not a “given” and is challenged by new generational trends.”
Moreover, it claimed that one of its main objectives was to promote women’s football on a global level.
The statement noted that despite the fact that the remaining nine clubs involved in the Super League project have now found themselves in such inconsistent and contradictory position when signing a number of commitments to UEFA, it will persevere in the pursuit of adequate solutions, despite the unacceptable and ongoing pressures and threats received from the body.
“Mostly, we reiterate to FIFA, UEFA and all football stakeholders, as we have done on several occasions since the announcement of the Super League, our commitment and firm will discuss, with respect and without intolerable pressure and in accordance with the rule of law, the most appropriate solutions for the sustainability of the whole football family,” the statement concluded.
