The fallout from the news of a breakaway Super League for European football intensified Tuesday with soccer's governing body, the Union of European Football Associations, leading the charge. It said associated players and clubs could be banned from its competitions and even the World Cup.
Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin described the Super League as a "spit in the face" of all football lovers. "As soon as possible they (the clubs) and the players have to be banned from all our competitions," he added.
"The players who will play in teams that might play in the closed league will be banned from playing in the World Cup and Euros, so they will not be able to represent their national teams at any matches," he said. "These cynical plans are completely against what football should be. This idea is a spit in the face of all football lovers and society as well. I'm not going to call them the Dirty Dozen, but ..."
He added: "They write in their press release about solidarity, they don't know 'S' about solidarity. They want to be famous. They will be famous in the wrong way," The Guardian reported.
Three of the 12 clubs in the new league - Real Madrid, Manchester City and Chelsea - might be withdrawn from this season's Champions League semi-finals, Uefa executive committee member Jesper Moller told Danish broadcaster DR.
"The clubs must go. I expect that to happen Friday. Then we have to find out how to finish (this season's) Champions League tournament," said Moller, who heads the Danish FA.
The renegade clubs - six from the English Premier League plus three each from Spain and Italy - will be guaranteed places in the new competition in contrast to the Champions League, which requires teams to qualify via their domestic leagues.
U.S. investment bank JP Morgan is financing the new league, providing a $4.2 billion grant to the founding clubs to spend on infrastructure and recovery from the effects of the COVID pandemic.
England's Premier League clubs will meet to discuss the crisis Tuesday - but without the six breakaway clubs present.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has defended the creation of a European Super League and says it will 'save football,' while he dismissed the possibility of Uefa imposing sanctions on the 12 breakaway clubs.
Pérez dismissed that threat as "impossible" and also said the move to establish the breakaway league had been forced upon the 12 clubs. "Uefa is a monopoly but it needs to be more transparent," he said. "We want to save football for the next 20 years, it is in a time of serious danger...Many important clubs in Spain, Italy and the UK want to find a solution to a very bad financial situation. If there is no audience, small, medium and large clubs will die. Uefa wants to make changes for the 2024 Champions League, but if we wait for that we all die," he said in a statement.
"I will try to help to sort this somehow."
Jurgen Klopp has spoken about the European Super League proposals in tonight's post-match press conference.#MNF pic.twitter.com/v1n6OlTJm6 — Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 19, 2021
However, even Britain's future king has weighed in. Prince William - an Aston Villa fan and president of England's Football Association - joined the British government and football's governing bodies in their opposition to a proposal that has been branded "disgraceful" and a shameful money grab by fans all over the world.
"Now, more than ever, we must protect the entire football community - from the top level to the grassroots - and the values of competition and fairness at its core," Prince William tweeted. "I share the concerns of fans about the proposed Super League and the damage it risks causing to the game we love."
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government says it is willing to step and change laws if necessary, to stop the 'big six' clubs from following through with the move.
