The masks fall again. Not that anyone doubted for a moment the nature of the faces behind the new company A 22 Sports Management, tasked with "sponsoring and assisting in the creation of Super League in Europe" in his words, but Andrea Agnelli's recent media load confirms the trend. Namely that the dissident trio composed of Juventus, Real and Barça, never planned to drop the steak on the project of semi-closed league (now open).

Only the approach changes: the promoters of the Super League want to restore sporting equity that the European body has failed to maintain. "If the current system is maintained, the gap between English and Spanish clubs in particular and the others is only widening perhaps with the exception of PSG and Bayern Munich," Agnelli warned in an interview with Telegraaf. What should be pursued is greater sports democracy. Doesn't a Polish club have the right to succeed? Don't Polish fans have enough passion for football? »

Agnelli, the elitist turned populist

The return to football to dad, with "a chance for all to reach the top of the pyramid", as evoked for 20 Minutes a representative of A 22, is one of the ten main principles carried by the advisory body. An accumulation of commandments all more benevolent than the others and to which it is impossible not to subscribe unless one is devoid of humanity.

What is too good being by nature suspect, it is worth questioning the sincerity of the approach, promoted, let us remember, by leaders with a certain penchant for elitism. William Martucci, a former UEFA consultant in charge of developing club competitions, worked on the new version of the Champions League. And he recalls that the Agnelli, suddenly moved by the fate of the supporters of Lech Poznan or Legia Warsaw, is the first to have opened Pandora's box by drawing a semi-closed Champions League format when he reigned over the ECA.

"This very elitist project was put on the table by Agnelli in 2019. It had been rejected by a handful of clubs. The latter had teamed up to send a letter to UEFA and other organisations to resist. They managed to postpone the project. »

The ten principles of Super League

  • Open and meritocratic competitions
  • National championships: the bedrock of football
  • Improving competitiveness through stable and sustainable resources
  • Player health must be at the center of the game
  • Club-run competitions with transparent and well-enforced financial sustainability rules
  • The best football competition in the world
  • Improving the fan experience
  • Developing and financing women's football
  • Much more solidarity
  • Respect for the law and values of the European Union

Why has the Super League reappeared since the autumn?

"We wanted to make a progress report on the progress of the dialogues, explains another pundit of the company A 22. We wanted to clarify our position with the clubs, to prove to them that we were listening to them. Explain, also, that we are not a closed league [composed of 60 to 80 teams for 14 games per club, at least]. And we are really satisfied with this first stage of dialogue with the clubs because we feel that they share 100% of the diagnosis and that they want to work. The European Club Association (ECA) looks at all this with disdain. "Real Madrid, Juventus and Barça are embarking on another desperate attempt," said Wanja Greuel, ECA board member and CEO of Swiss club Young Boys. It's clear that they are trying to keep this Super League project alive in one way or another. Nobody ever wanted this Super League apart from this handful of clubs attracted by the smell of money. »

A handful estimated at "40 to 50 clubs interested" by the dissident organization which is careful not to give names. Because it's a bluff? Possible. Officially, it is mainly a question of protecting these supposed allies, threatened with lynching by the close guard of Aleksandr Ceferin, portrayed by his enemies as a potential Don Vito Corleone.

"There is real pressure on the other side not to talk to us. UEFA calls, sends people, says clearly "if you hear about other clubs talking to us, you have to say so", a bit like a mafia. »

Accusations that we have not been able to verify, although we guess in the boss of UEFA a certain talent in the art of bullying. Last autumn, Ceferin received Bernd Reichart, just appointed CEO of A 22 and two of his partners, including Anas Laghrari, a close friend of Florentino Pérez. The meeting, which promised to take place in a small group, turned into a purple wedding for the three men. In front of them, and in addition to the Slovenian, about thirty luminaries such as Javier Tebas (Spanish League), Nasser Al-Khelaïfi or Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Bayern Munich) indulged in a killing in organized gang according to several sources present. UEFA's message is very clear, "opposition to this self-proclaimed Super League remains as overwhelming today as it has been since April 2021."


UEFA issue a statement confirming their "opposition to the self-proclaimed Super League remains as overwhelming today as it has been since April 2021" pic.twitter.com/BuLkBrNMPk

— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) November 8, 2022

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UEFA vs Super League, the Court of Justice of the EU will rule

Since discussion is not an option, it was decided that the European Court of Justice (ECJ) would arbitrate the Super League vs Champions League match. Around a fundamental question: does UEFA abuse its position to the detriment of European laws by allowing itself to threaten to sanction mutinous clubs at the initiative of the semi-closed tournament? On 15 December, the Advocate General of the CJEU considered that UEFA was within its rights. There is therefore a good chance that its recommendations will be followed in the final decision of this conflict, even if the Super League camp still hopes that this legal battle leads to a questioning of UEFA's place in the landscape. Without that, it will be difficult for the dissident competition to exist.

"We want clubs to have the same rights at European level as clubs at national level," argues an A22 executive. The L1 has a lot of freedom to self-organize. In Europe, we should have at least these same rights. However, and this is Agnelli's point of view, all rights are for the moment concentrated in the hands of UEFA. "They control everything, all the financial, commercial, legal and sporting conditions. While UEFA, in fact, is only responsible for setting the date and matches in the European context. »

UEFA is accountable for sporting fairness

In the event of a total victory for the European football body, it will be rid of a thorn in its foot, but will be held accountable, particularly on the issue of sporting fairness within the old continent. The Super League and its questionable intentions must not make us forget the pitfalls of UEFA, whose financial fair play and solidarity mechanisms are not enough to hide the dust of elitism. "If the judgment allows us to define this European sporting model a little better, we will be in a situation where UEFA will have fewer excuses not to do what everyone expects of it, which is to put in place more interventionist measures," Martucci said. Who can put pressure on UEFA to do so? The European Commission. It is always difficult to assess the political will of these organizations, but we have seen several MPs, especially in 2021 after the Super League mutiny, speak out in favor of better regulation. »

"It would be necessary, either in a very simple way, to tax the richest championships and redistribute this money to others, or at club level, consider a luxury tax: let's say that a club wants to spend 400,000 million euros in payroll each year. He will then have to pay a tax of 100 million euros, and this 100 million is paid to other clubs who have less to spend. Otherwise, under-represented European clubs will have to take power in one way or another. »

In an ideal world, the ECA should make this possible. But in reality, only 100 clubs have the right to vote (and "twenty pull the strings", says a keen observer of European football) in a body chaired by a man, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, whom the status quo suits as much as Alexander Ceferin. And where resignation seems to reign. For example, it has been a long time since the Young Boys of Wanja Greuel put their ambitions in the cellar:

"When I started to love football 40 years ago, it was different. A lot more clubs could win the C1, it was great. But football is also a business. Clubs are businesses. The only thing we can do right now is guard against the worst. And the worst part is the Super League. We need to slow down. The gap will widen, let's just try to slow down this inevitable thing. A year ago, we played against Manchester United here in the Champions League. Each of their players was paid more than our entire squad. And we won! A sad summary of European club football, this unequal banquet where the poorest are already happy to be able to lick a few crumbs.

  • Sport
  • Super League
  • Champions League
  • UEFA
  • Football