MANCHESTER, England, (Reuters) – The Super League project split European football into tattoos yesterday after six English Premier League clubs withdrew 48 hours after agreeing to join teams from Italy and Spain in the new elite competition.
After a storm of protests from fans, players, managers and governments, alongside threats of bans and sanctions by European governing bodies and the UEFA and FIFA game world, English clubs bowed to pressure and threw in the towel.
Manchester City were the first to abandon the initiative and then Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur announced that they were pursuing the same.
Chelsea, whose supporters protested outside its stadium before yesterday’s game holding banners saying ‘Fans not customers’, are expected to complete the departure of the’ Big Six ‘when they present withdrawal papers to’ r Super League company.
The Super League did not respond to a request for comment and the league’s chairman, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, canceled a planned radio interview.
The league, announced on Sunday with 12 founding members, is now left with three Italian clubs – AC Milan, Juventus and Inter Milan – along with Perez’s Real Madrid along with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid from Spain.
UEFA, whose elite Champions League rival was in danger of the proposed new league, had threatened to ban the clubs and players who joined the Super League but its president Aleksander Ceferin had earlier urged English clubs to think again.
“I said yesterday that it is great to admit a mistake and these clubs made a big mistake,” he said after the English clubs announced their decisions to leave.
“But they’re back in the fold now and I know they have a lot to offer not only to our competitions but to the whole European game.
“The important thing now is that we move on, rebuild the unity the game enjoyed before and move forward together,” he said.
Adding to the drama, Manchester United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward fell on his sword, announcing his resignation shortly before his club quit a project he had been influential in delivering.
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The Super League had argued that it would increase revenue for the top clubs and allow them to distribute more money for the rest of the game.
US investment bank JP Morgan JPM.N was brought in to fund the new league, providing the founding clubs with a 3.5 billion euro ($ 4.21 billion) grant to spend on infrastructure and recovery from the impact of the pandemic COVID-19.
However, governing bodies of the sport, other teams and fan organizations said the Super League would boost the power and wealth of elite clubs and the partially closed structure of the league goes against Europe’s long-standing European football model.
Unlike the current European top-level Champions League competition, where teams have to qualify through their domestic league, the established Super League teams would have guaranteed themselves a place in the new competition each year. Most of the statements from the English clubs were brief but Arsenal apologized to their fans for taking part.
“We never intended to cause so much distress, however, when the invitation to join the Super League came, even though we knew there were no guarantees, we didn’t want to be left behind to make sure we were defense of Arsenal and its future.
“As a result of listening to you and the wider football community over the last few days we are pulling out of the proposed Super League. We made a mistake, and we apologize for it, ”the London club said in an open letter https://www.arsenal.com/news/open-letter-our-fans to fans.
The size of the game split and the strength of feeling it created led political leaders across Europe to speak out, and in some cases to threaten intervention.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said his government would consider passing legislation to halt the breach, likening the plans to creating a cartel.
The Premier League said it had “unanimously and vigorously” rejected the plans. After meeting with the 14 non-participating clubs, he said they were considering “all available actions” to stop the new competition.
“We have listened carefully to the reaction of our supporters, the UK government and other key stakeholders,” Manchester United said in a statement.
“We remain committed to working with others across the football community to offer sustainable solutions to the long-term challenges facing the game.”