The Superleague is playing openly – Newspaper Kommersant No. 25 (7470) of 02/10/2023
[ad_1]
The controversial project of the football Super League, the first attempt of which failed miserably in 2021, may receive a new breath. Bernd Reichart, General Director of the A22 company, which was entrusted with its promotion by the shareholders of the Superleague, spoke about the new scheme for implementing the project. It decided to abandon the closed tournament format and switch to a scheme involving up to 80 teams. The prospects for the implementation of the project depend on what position the European Court takes. In its production is now a dispute between the Super League and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), which does not want a strong competitor to the existing European competitions.
A22 CEO Bernd Reichart told Die Welt about the key aspects of the revamped Super League project, a highly controversial project whose first attempt in the spring of 2021 failed. Recallthat then 12 European top clubs – English Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham, Spanish Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid and Barcelona, Italian Inter, Juventus and Milan have announced the creation of a tournament not controlled by UEFA. It lasted a little more than a day and fell apart after all the English teams left it, unable to cope with the pressure.
At the moment the project support only Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus. They are the founders of A22.
Mr. Reichart made it clear that the Super League had given up on the idea of a super-elite, indoor, North American league-style tournament. According to him, the updated project provides that 60 to 80 teams can play in the Super League. Moreover, they will get into it and drop out according to the sports principle. The structure may include several divisions. Bernd Reichart did not explain whether these divisions will exist in parallel, that is, they will form something like the group stages of European competitions that are currently available, or whether we are talking about a vertical division – the formation of tournaments of different levels within the Super League. As the head of A22 assures, there is no talk of “withdrawing” teams from national championships. Through them, they will qualify for the Super League. As for the load on the participants, it will be at least 14 matches per season.
Bernd Reichart is sure that without reforms, European club football will face difficulties. “The very foundations of European football are in danger of collapse. It’s time for a change,” he said. “It is the clubs that bear all the commercial risks, but when it comes to making important decisions, they are forced to stay on the sidelines, while the sporting and financial foundations of the industry are crumbling.”
The head of A22 assures that he has already won impressive support from dozens of clubs across Europe: in total, contacts were made with representatives of 50 clubs.
“In the course of our communication, we found out that clubs often find it impossible to speak out openly against the system for fear of sanctions. Our dialogue was open, honest, constructive and ended with the development of clear ideas about what changes are needed and how they can be implemented. Much remains to be done, so we will continue the dialogue,” said Bernd Reichart.
The option proposed by A22 obviously aims to deprive UEFA of important trump cards in the fight against the Super League. One of UEFA’s key claims, which resonated with most clubs in Europe, was that the Super League would be closed. The new project rejects the idea of closedness. In addition, A22 is trying to neutralize the effect of the reform of the Champions League, which will come into force in the 2024/25 season. The Champions League will no longer have group stages in the current sense. Instead, a single league of 36 teams will be formed. They will play according to the Swiss system and will play eight games with different opponents (four meetings at home and away). Eight best clubs will immediately go to the play-offs, the teams that take places from 9th to 24th will play for eight more tickets to the 1/8 finals in two-legged joints. But as you can see, the Superleague offers a minimum of 14, not 8 games for participants. Bernd Reichart is sure that this will have a positive impact on the income of the teams.
However, no matter how attractive the leaders of the Superleague consider their project, it will not be implemented if its supporters are defeated in court. At the moment, the dispute between the Super League and UEFA is in the proceedings of the European Court (the decision is expected in the spring).
The Superleague accuses UEFA of violating antitrust laws, abusing its dominant position, and intimidating potential partners in new projects. It is difficult to say which side the judges will take.
On the one hand, in early February, the court of Madrid, which considered the dispute of the same participants and on the same grounds, supported the Superleague lawsuit and banned UEFA from subjecting Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus to sanctions. On the other hand, in December last year, the senior legal adviser of the European Court, Athanasios Rantos, published his vision of the case (the opinion of the senior legal adviser is advisory, but, according to practice, often coincides with the final decision of the court). And so he took the side of UEFA. In his statement, he said that “the Super League can hold independent football competitions outside the UEFA ecosystem”, since UEFA rules do not contain direct prohibitions on this. However, the specialist believes that the clubs participating in the Super League cannot “continue to participate in tournaments organized by UEFA without the prior permission of these organizations.” At the same time, Mr. Rantos acknowledged that such a position is contrary to the requirements of EU antitrust law, but believes that “taking into account the legitimate goals related to the nature of sport, such restrictions are permissible.”
[ad_2]
Source link
