UEFA president, Aleksander Ceferin has stated that clubs and players involved in the proposed breakaway European Super League could be banned ‘as soon as possible’ from all of its competitions and the World Cup.
Addressing an emergency meeting on Monday, April 19, after 12 of Europe’s top clubs announced the European super league the European Super League, Ceferin launched a scathing attack on the plan, which could change the game of football forever.
Ceferin has now refused to rule out that players could be banned from the Euros. When asked about when the ban would begin, he said: ‘I do not know when.’
‘We’re still assessing with our legal team but we will take all the sanctions that we can and we will inform you as soon we can,’ he said.
‘My opinion is that as soon as possible they have to be banned from all our competitions and the players from all our competitions.’
Ceferin then described the European Super League as a ‘spit in the face’ for football and society. He then tagged Man United chairman Ed Woodward and former European Club Association chairman Andrea Agnelli (Juventus president) as ‘the biggest disappointment’, accusing the latter of lying to UEFA over the plans for a Super League.
He added: ‘I do not want to be too personal, but I’ve never seen a person that would lie so many times, so persistently as he did. It’s unbelievable.’
Ceferin said he had spoken to Agnelli (pictured below), who is also the president of Italian giants Juventus, on Saturday and was assured rumblings of a European Super League were just ‘rumours’.
They agreed to speak again an hour later but Ceferin claims Agnelli switched off his phone.
“I have seen many things in my life. I was a criminal lawyer. I have never seen people like that,” said Ceferin.
“If I start with Ed Woodward (pictured below) he called me last Thursday evening saying he’s very satisfied with and fully supports the reforms and the only thing he wants to talk about was Financial Fair Play, when obviously he had already signed something else.”
He added: ‘I cannot stress more strongly UEFA and the footballing world stand united against this self-serving proposal from a select few clubs.’
He said society, football and government were all ‘united against this nonsense of a project.
‘We are united in our opposition to these cynical plans.
‘We urge everyone to stand tall with us us
‘This idea is a spit in the face of all football layers and society as well. I wil not allow them to take [football] away from us.
