February 3 – Outspoken Spanish league boss Javier Tebas (pictured) has launched another scathing attack on Real Madrid for backing a European Super League and warns against taking revised plans for the breakaway league lightly, saying it could do untold damage.
Real supremo Florentino Perez has been trying to pioneer the project for years despite it collapsing almost as soon as it was launched.
“The first thing, let it be very clear who is behind it. Florentino Perez. You have to show your face,” Tebas charged.
Tebas criticised the constant changes to the competition’s format, and its latest proposed relaunch as the Unify League. “It is not serious that we have three formats in three years.”
And he warned the project would increase the economic divide rather than the reverse. “The more economic gap, the less competitive it is. Teams can qualify from the national leagues, but of the 16 slots, 12 belong to the five major leagues. It seems a little elitist. I’m sure it would do devastating damage.”
In a separate interview with The Guardian newspaper, Tebas warned that football cannot afford to overlook the threat posed by A22, the marketing company behind the latest proposal unveiled in December which follows two previous failed attempts.
“What they’re looking for is to generate instability and uncertainty in European football,” he said. “They’re trying to mislead European football so we have to explain that it’s not a serious project. If we didn’t, some of the clubs could believe it. People shouldn’t just think about the format: the sporting model is elitist and oligarchic.”
The new model proposes four divisions and a total of 96 clubs in its men’s division, with no promotion or relegation. Access would be based on annual performance in domestic leagues.
UEFA has blocked previous super league attempts but in a bombshell decision at the back end of 2023, the European Court of Justice ruled UEFA and FIFA broke EU competition rules by attempting to block the seemingly doomed breakaway league.
The judgement went against the advice of the ECJ’s own advocate general whose non-binding opinion a year previously found in favour of UEFA’s position.
“I’m sure they are trying to pressurise UEFA to make some sort of agreement,” Tebas continued. “But UEFA should pay no attention because football will not support this project. I know A22 have had interviews with some clubs, talked about it and explained it, but nobody has made that step forward. What they want to do is blackmail UEFA.”
Tebas also took aim at the expanded Club World Cup having previously called for the tournament next summer to be scrapped. The Spanish league is party to a complaint to the European Commission about the international calendar, focussing on the CWC. “I think financially it will be a disaster,” Tebas declared.
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