Super League Six Punishment Pending?

According to Sky Sports, the 14 Premier League clubs not involved in the breakaway Super League remain resolute in their demands for the Big Six clubs to face consequences for their actions – and to have their representatives removed from key positions within the Premier League.

As we saw at the Emirates Stadium, when 2000 or so Arsenal fans were out in force before their game against Everton, to protest against owner Stan Kroenke, The Super League episode has left a bitter taste with everyone from fans to CEO’s at Premier League clubs.

One of the chief executives from the 14 Premier League clubs not involved in the ESL told Sky Sports News, the following:

• Little if any trust remains in the officials from Big Six clubs represented on PL committees and working groups.
• Big Six officials were privy to highly sensitive information about the inner workings of the league, its finances and business relationships, which could have been particularly useful to those planning and financing a breakaway league.
• The official said he felt “betrayed” and could no longer trust his fellow PL committee members who he believes must now be removed from their league positions.
• He went on to claim that one executive from a Big Six club had earlier this year told members of PL working group that he believed there would never be a breakaway European league.
• “If we can get fined for a late kick off, surely some serious sanctions must be levelled at these individuals,” argued the source.
• It’s understood that one chairman from the Big Six spent last night trying to convince other PL clubs to abandon their demands for sanctions from the PL, with limited success.

Since the six English clubs U-Turn from The Super League, the fallout from their original actions is far from over.

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez insisted the project isn’t quite done and dusted just yet.

“We’re going to continue working,” said Perez. “The project is on standby.”

Global Market Expansion

It’s certainly not a new realisation that greed is the prime mover in the world of football in recent decades. Global expansion of the Premier League into new markets has always been a core driving force. Remember the ill-fated 39th game, where it was proposed that Premier League games would be played in different countries around the world?

Ultimately, this was what The Super League was all about, to grow the broadcast territories and commercial revenue streams outside of the UK and Europe. The ‘European Super League’ or ‘ESL’ monikers were red herrings, used by some seemingly unaware press – this wasn’t simply a Champions League replacement. That would be thinking too small.

Go to the website and see their branding, its name is simply ‘The Super League. It’s for a purpose – so it could prevail where the ’39th Game’ had failed, and become a travelling circus and product for the whole world, able to host games in Asia, USA and the rest of the world.

It all makes perfect sense and logic for business and marketing people, who don’t really get the nuance, tradition and soul of the game.

Government Prep Fan-led Football Review

The main take away for football supporters though is that this is a wake-up call and should be used as a starting point to address the ills of the supposed ‘beautiful game’.

It would seem that football fans have the government very much on their side now, with new urgency sounding out from parliament regarding the long-mooted fan-led review.

In this week’s Prime Minister’s Questions, Boris Johnson said the fan-led review would be wide-ranging, promising a “root and branch” review of game’s governance.

He told the Commons: “I think that one of the most worrying features about the European Super League proposals is that they would have taken clubs that take their names from great, famous British towns and cities, English towns and cities, and turned them just into global brands with no relation to the fans, to the communities that gave them life and that give them the most love and support.

“And that was in my view totally wrong, to say nothing of the lack of competition.

“And it’s entirely right that Tracey Crouch will do a root and branch investigation into the governance of football and into what we can do to promote the role of fans in that governance.”

The very notion of The Super League may yet prove a blessing in disguise for the whole of football, if this ugly incident can trigger real change.

UTV

Latest ‘Something for the Weekend’ podcast episode out now