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Tag: Super League

  • Super League Protests affected Brighton performance – Tuchel

    Super League Protests affected Brighton performance – Tuchel

    Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel says he doesn’t need an apology from directors over their Super League involvement.

    However, Tuchel also sahys the fan protests around the now failed competition affected Tuesday’s performance in the goalless draw against Brighton at Stamford Bridge.

    “Yes it has been distracting, but it’s the owner’s club, it’s not my club,” said Tuchel.

    “I’m part of the club, but it’s the owner and the club’s decision, and now they change that decision.

    “There’s no need to apologise to me directly, my job is to adapt to the circumstances. And were we distracted? Yeah clearly.

    “Me personally I arrived in a state of mind on Tuesday at the stadium that was clearly not the mindset that I normally arrive in, for a match.

    “But that’s already in the past, and like I said, I don’t think they need to apologise to me.”

  • The Super League is a necessity – Barca president

    The Super League is a necessity – Barca president

    Barcelona president, Joan Laporta, has described the new Super League as a “necessity” affirming that he remains fully behind the plans for the controversial breakaway.

    The announcement of a new competition including 12 of the richest clubs in European football last Sunday was met with fierce opposition from supporters and players alike, leading to many of the founding members performing a swift U-turn.

    Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid have all withdrawn, but Barca are one of four founding clubs still on board, and Laporta is not yet ready to give up on the initiative.

    “We had a position and we still have one and we will explain,” the Barca president told TV3. “The position is one of caution but it [Super League] is a necessity. On the other hand as it should be, our members will have the last word on it.

    “It’s absolutely necessary that the big clubs, given that we generate a lot of revenue, we want to have the capacity to have our say on the sharing process. And also, we believe that it’s important that this is accompanied by an attractive competition based on sporting merit.”

    Laporta added: “We are the defenders of maintaining local leagues and therefore, we are always open to dialogue with UEFA. That is the premise. Everyone wants to make football better and have the necessary resources to make it a great spectacle.

    “Because if the big clubs don’t have these resources, football will be damaged. There will be institutional harmony and a willingness to think about all this.

    “There was a series of pressure which made some clubs pull out or value it in a different way, but the fact is that the proposal still exists but more resources are needed given that we have important investment, we paid important salaries and if we want football to be a spectacle through sporting merits, whoever wants this level of quality to be maintained must take into account what we are proposing.”

  • English fans won Super League war – Valdano

    English fans won Super League war – Valdano

    Former Real Madrid GM Jorge Valdano has hit out at president Florentino Perez for his role in the Super League breakaway.

    Valdano slammed Florentino’s appearance on El Chiringuito.

    He said, “I think you cannot present yourself on ‘El Chiringuito’ as a messiah underestimating football itself.”

    He also had harsh words for Andrea Agnelli, the president of Juventus, for his resignation from the ECA.

    “Agnelli was the representative of 200 teams and betrayed them. It wasn’t very decent,” Valdano said.

    In his opinion, “The war was not won by UEFA, it was won by the people, the people of England; there is a very big cultural difference between Spain and England for football.

    And he added that, “I was not surprised by the fall of the Super League. I already said that fans should not be underestimated.”

    Valdano finally commented that “football goes one way and the institutions go another, that’s why the players are not affected by what happens in the offices.”

  • I thought Super League was ‘a joke’ – Ancelotti

    I thought Super League was ‘a joke’ – Ancelotti

    Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti admits that he thought talk of a breakaway Super League being formed was “a joke”.

    Ancelotti was quick to condemn the plans that would have had huge ramifications on the Champions League and Premier League.

    “For every supporter of football it was a strange day, a surprise,” he said.

    “We heard about the Super League in the past few months but I was sure it was not going to happen. What can I say? They were wrong.

    “The most important part, they wanted to build a competition without sporting merit. This is not acceptable. If you are good, you play football as a professional – if not, you’re not a professional. They were wrong, full stop.”

    Ancelotti revealed that he thought the plans were a joke when he first heard, and gave his thoughts on whether the six Premier League clubs involved should be punished.

    Distancing himself from the idea of any punishment, he said: “I’m not the right person to judge if they should be punishment. Everyone can make mistakes, but I cannot say if they have to be punished or not.”

    Ancelotti also gave a mischievous answer when discussing the impact the Super League would have had on clubs like Everton, who have ambitions of breaking into the top four.

    He joked: “The way we are working now is the right way. We have improved the team, we improved the knowledge of the players. We have to improve other things to play the Super Leag…oh sorry!”

  • Super League: UEFA boss praises UK PM Johnson and ‘fan revolution’

    Super League: UEFA boss praises UK PM Johnson and ‘fan revolution’

    UEFA president, Aleksander Ceferin, has praised UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and his government for helping to force six English clubs to pull out of the breakaway Super League venture.

    Ceferin commended the move, saying they had taken the side of a fan revolt.

    Twelve of Europe’s top clubs announced on Sunday they were setting up a breakaway competition to rival UEFA’s Champions League but the ‘Big Six’ English clubs pulled out on Tuesday after a wave of criticism, protests and political pressure.

    Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur all signed up to the Super League before changing their minds after 48 hours.

    Ceferin, who runs European soccer’s governing body, said he had been in touch with Johnson and his government after the breakaway was announced.

    “They responded excellently; I must say I was impressed by their effectiveness.

    “They immediately said they were available to us, for anything, to release a very sharp statement. And that reaction from the British government has helped a lot,” he told Slovenian television station POPTV in an interview.

    On Tuesday, Johnson met with the Premier League and Football Association. Several newspapers reported he had told them he was ready to drop a “legislative bomb” to stop the breakaway.

    The prime minister’s spokesman told the BBC measures under consideration included preventing foreign players of the clubs involved getting work visas – which they need after Brexit – and the withdrawal of police funding for match days.

    Ceferin said Johnson had recognised the anger of football supporters. Fans had protested outside grounds including at matches involving Liverpool and Chelsea.

    “I find it very responsible from the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to take a sharp stand on the side of the fans, not only because of the culture and love of football, but also because it ensures order in the country,” Ceferin said.

  • What Arsene Wenger said about Super League failure

    What Arsene Wenger said about Super League failure

    Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is ‘not surprised’ to see the European Super League collapse just 48 hours into its existence.

    Arsenal are one of six English clubs to have initially signed up to the project, which has been met by intense criticism from everyone involved in football.

    But on Tuesday night, all the six Premier League clubs formally withdrew from the proposed competition.

    According to Wenger, the plan was doomed from the start.

    “I’m not surprised it didn’t last long,” Wenger told beIN Sports.

    “I never believed from the start it would happen.

    “It ignored the basic principles of sporting merit. If you ignore that you kill the domestic leagues, fans would never accept that. Rightly so.”

  • All six EPL clubs exit the European Super League

    All six EPL clubs exit the European Super League

    The six Premier League clubs have pulled out of the European Super League.

    The Super League becomes the ‘Super Leave’ as the ‘big six’ withdraw from the planned breakaway.

    Manchester City were the first club to pull out after Chelsea had signalled their intent to do so by preparing documentation to withdraw.

    The other four sides – Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham – have all now followed suit.

    The Super League said it would reconsider “the most appropriate steps” to reshape the project.

    The 12-team Super League was announced on Sunday to widespread condemnation.

    Manchester City confirmed they have “formally enacted the procedures to withdraw” from the Super League.

    Liverpool said their involvement in the proposed breakaway league “has been discontinued”.

    Manchester United said they had “listened carefully to the reaction from our fans, the UK government and other key stakeholders” in making their decision to not take part.

    Arsenal apologised in an open letter to their fans and said they had “made a mistake”, adding they were withdrawing after listening to them and the “wider football community”.

    Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy said the club regretted the “anxiety and upset” caused by the proposal.

    Chelsea confirmed they have “begun the formal procedures for withdrawal from the group” that they only joined “late last week”.

  • You are either in or out, FIFA warns Super League clubs

    You are either in or out, FIFA warns Super League clubs

    FIFA President Gianni Infantino told the 12 breakaway European Super League clubs on Tuesday that they could not be “half in, half out” of the established football system.

    He added that they must face up to the reality of their decision.

    Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Manchester United, Liverpool and Juventus are among the members of the proposed new league.

    But UEFA has threatened to ban them from domestic and international competition and vowed to fight the move.

    “If some elect to go their own way, then they must live with the consequences of their choice. They are responsible for their choice —- concretely this means, either you are in, or you are out.

    “You cannot be half in and half out. This has to be absolutely clear,” Infantino told UEFA’s congress in Montreux, Switzerland.

    Infantino’s comments came after the Super League had called on Monday for talks with UEFA and FIFA about their new competition’s place in the football “ecosystem”.

    The FIFA head, a former UEFA general secretary, repeated his opposition to the breakaway project.

    “We can only and strongly disapprove of a Super League which is a closed shop, breakaway from current institutions,” Infantino said. “No doubt whatsoever of FIFA’s disapproval. Full support to UEFA.

    “We hope that everything will go back to normal, that everything will be settled, but always with respect, always with solidarity and with the interests of national, European and global football.”

  • Chelsea chairman discusses Super League with players

    Chelsea chairman discusses Super League with players

    Chelsea’s players and staff have held a meeting with club chairman Bruce Buck ahead of a clash with Brighton on Tuesday night, with fears regarding the breakaway Super League competition up for discussion, Goal reports.

    The Blues have been threatened with losing their spot in the Champions League, where they are due to face Real Madrid in the semi-finals next week, while they could be kicked out of UEFA competition next season as well.

    Both the players and manager Thomas Tuchel have been put in an uncomfortable position of fronting up the leadership’s decision to join a new Super League.

    There was no communication from above ahead of the announcement on Sunday evening, leaving club staff to receive the news in the same way that the general public did.

    It is thought that several players in the Blues group are concerned after hearing UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin threaten action on them in the coming weeks should the club stand firm.

  • Super League: Jurgen Klopp to remain with Liverpool

    Super League: Jurgen Klopp to remain with Liverpool

    Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will not leave the club over their involvement in the European Super League.

    The Reds were part of 12 clubs who launched their own European competition, which drew widespread and intense criticism from media pundits, former players and even their own supporters.

    Klopp and his players were booed and jeered by fans ahead of their Premier League game at Leeds on Monday night, which ended in a 1-1 draw.

    But the German insists he will not walk away from the club during a tough period.

    Asked if he felt let down by FSG, he said: “I don’t think that, I don’t feel that. I am 20 years in football, and a lot of times owners made decisions without asking me, and I deal with it. I don’t want to be involved in these things, I don’t understand them. I’m a football person. It’s not about letting me down.

    “I’m here as a football coach and manager, and I will do that as long as people let me do that. I heard today that I will resign or whatever.

    “If times get even tougher, that makes me even more sticky that I will stay here. I feel responsible for the team, responsible for the club and for the relationship we have with our fans. It’s a very tough time, but I will try to help to sort it somehow.”

    He added: “I am at the club six years, around about. I know our owners, they are serious people, reasonable people. They care about us.

    “But they never had to explain these kinds of decisions to me or ask me for permission. That’s the situation. I speak a lot to them, but I was not involved at all in the process. I got the information yesterday.

    “The English system is like this, there is pretty much one voice in the club and that’s the manager. It’s different to Germany. But there will be a moment for sure when our owners say what they have to say. Definitely, I’m sure.”