European Super League Controversy

Overview

The Super League known as European Super League (ESL) is a controversial, proposed European football league that will feature major clubs from the top leagues across the continent of Europe, such as Manchester United and Liverpool from the Premier League, Barcélona from La Liga, etc. The league's structure would be similar to the NFL in that there would be two divisions with the top four teams in each division qualifying for a playoff tournament. The creation of the league proved highly controversial among politicians, football fans, ex-players, and existing football organizations like UEFA and FIFA. Critics have argued that the creation of a "Super League" would be highly detrimental to existing clubs, particularly lower-level football clubs, and that the move was motivated primarily by greed on the part of the owners of the Super League clubs. Critics have vowed to attempt to stop the creation of the Super League, with FIFA saying they would ban players who play in the Super League from participating in the World Cup.

Background

In October of 2020, rumors of a breakaway European League that would feature the top teams and no relegation swirled, with English Premier League teams Liverpool and Manchester United said to have been founding members.^[2] While the rumor initially stated the League would be backed by FIFA, in January of 2021, FIFA and all of football's continental confederations (AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, OFC and UEFA) issued a statement rejecting any such proposal, and all clubs or players involved in such a league would be banned from any of their competitions.^[3]

On April 18th, 2021, several top European teams announced the formation of a breakaway football league called the European Super League.^[4] The founding members included Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Juventus, Inter Milan and AC Milan. Three more teams were expected to be announced. Five other teams are supposed to qualify annually for the league, making a twenty-team league.

Developments

The announcement of the European Super League was met with harsh rebuke from a wide variety of critics. UEFA, the English Football Association, the Premier League, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), LaLiga, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) and Lega Serie A released a joint statement condemning the creation of the league.^[5] "(We) will remain united in our efforts to stop this cynical project, a project that is founded on the self-interest of a few clubs at a time when society needs solidarity more than ever," they wrote. Both the French football federation and French professional league issued a statement of condemnation, as did the German football federation. French president Emmanuel Macron and English prime minister Boris Johnson condemned the creation of the league.^[6] Fan organizations for all six of the English teams announced for the Super League wrote posts expressing their anger and betrayal at the Super League.^[6] There were also protests outside Premier League stadiums of the teams announced for the Super League.

The Super League has been harshly criticized for being a "money-grab" for the team owners in the eyes of critics. Critics have argued that the creation of the Super League would have catastrophic consequences on lower-tier teams, as they would not have the financial resources to compete with a continental 'Super League.' Boris Johnson argued the move amounted to a betrayal on the clubs' parts to their local fans, saying, "These clubs are not just great global brands – of course they're great global brands – they're also clubs that have originated historically from their towns, from their cities, from their local communities, they should have a link with those fans, and with the fan base in their community."^[6]

Many also believe it is against the spirit of competition, as the closed system of the Super League would mean that smaller clubs could not work their way to the top of their fields, as clubs like Leicester City did in 2016.^[7] English comedian David Baddiel expressed that in a tweet that gained over 130 retweets and 1,700 likes (shown below, left). Dean Smith, head coach of Aston Villa, expressed a similar sentiment, stating, "This is how I look at it; I was born in 1971, 50 years ago… at that time #avfc were a 3rd div club. 11 years later I watched them lift the European Cup. They earned the right to lift that after winning the league."^[8]

Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola, the head coaches of ESL founding teams Liverpool and Manchester City, respectively, also expressed their disapproval of the league.^[9][10] James Corden spoke against it in a monologue on his television show (shown below).

Reported Backouts

On April 20th, it was reported that Chelsea, Manchester City, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid were in talks to back out of the league after heavy backlash.^[11] It was also reported that the founding members were going to meet that night to discuss disbanding the ESL plan altogether.^[12] Later that evening, the European Sports League was suspended, after a majority of the teams withdrew.^[13]

Search Interest

External References