It’s been a rollercoaster few days for football. The news that six Premier League clubs had joined forces with Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan to launch a European Super League dropped like a bombshell. The competition was designed to replace the Champions League for those elite clubs, and suddenly, decades of similar threats had become a reality. It looked as if this was actually going to happen, sending punters on sites like Betdaq into a frenzy of excitement.
Three days later, all six English clubs had come crawling back with their tails between their legs, with more clubs set to follow their example. A tidal wave of negative reaction – the like of which the footballing world has never seen – made the progression of the competition impossible, and in the end, it was the fans who scored a rare victory over the mega-rich owners who run these clubs.
The potential punishments that faced the six English clubs – Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Manchester City – were so severe that they were left with no option but to backtrack. Despite the Super League’s initial confidence that the likes of the Premier League and UEFA would have no legal grounds on which to issue bans or exclusions, it soon became clear that the position of the elite clubs was not as concrete as first thought. The involvement of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who had the unanimous support of parliament, also put pressure on the clubs, as his status as PM could circumvent certain protections the big six teams had.
Overall, it’s been a thoroughly embarrassing few days for the owners of these clubs, and it’s going to take a long time for the sense of betrayal among fans to heal. Each club took a slightly different stance when it came to their official statements announcing that they would drop the plans. Arsenal went into full conciliation mode, admitting that they’d made a mistake and lauding the supporters. Liverpool took the opposite approach – just two short paragraphs made up the club’s response, with no mention of the impact of fan protests at all.
This whole episode has perhaps been something of a wake-up call for the rich owners of England’s top clubs. While it’s true that the interest these teams generate is one the main reasons for the success of the Premier League, and indeed the Champions League, the last few days have proved that these powerful owners are still behest to the supporters when it comes to impactful decisions such as this one.
There is immense pressure on members of the top six clubs’ hierarchies to resign, and it has already been announced that Manchester United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward will step down at the end of the year. As for the owners of the clubs, it may well prove that this foiling of their plans could lead to selling up.
The Super League conversation seems to have finished for now, at least among the English clubs, and this whole saga has been a welcome reminder that these clubs do not hold the infallible power that they thought they did. The battle has been won, but the war against the immeasurable influence held by Europe’s biggest football clubs will go on.
