Paris (AFP)

When European football is torn apart: Faced with a possible "Superleague" between wealthy clubs, UEFA threatened to exclude dissident teams on Sunday, straining the atmosphere before a meeting on Monday crucial for the future of its Champions League, directly competed with this lucrative closed tournament project.

This is not the first time that UEFA has issued such a summons in the face of such activities, a sea serpent in European football often revived by the leaders of the continent to obtain more concessions.

But the governing body may have sensed that this time the threat was serious enough.

While its Executive Committee is due to meet on Monday (09h00 / 07h00 GMT) to endorse a reform of its Champions League supposed to cut the rug from under the feet of the supporters of a private competition, leaks in the press have multiplied around Sunday. the possible formalization of a rival "Superleague".

According to the New York Times, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Atlético Madrid in Spain, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea in England, and Juventus and AC Milan in Italy are affected by the project, and at least 12 teams in total have "signed up to be founding members or expressed interest".

"A few English, Spanish and Italian clubs could plan to announce the creation of a so-called + Superleague + closed," UEFA wrote in a statement co-signed by several national football federations and leagues, calling the project "cynical".

- Bayern and PSG loyal to UEFA?

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None of the clubs mentioned had officially confirmed their participation in this project late Sunday afternoon.

Among the clubs contacted by AFP, Juventus and AC Milan did not comment.

UEFA, on the other hand, said to thank the clubs of other countries, "in particular the French and German clubs, which refused to embark on this path", a sign that Bayern Munich and Paris SG, finalists of the last edition of the Champions League, seem to remain legalistic.

According to a source with knowledge of the negotiations, Bayern and PSG have still been approached, but the four clubs which seem to push the most in favor of the project are Manchester United, Juve, Barça and Real.

As in January, when Fifa and UEFA signed an unusual joint statement criticizing any dissident project, football authorities threatened clubs and their players with exclusion from current competitions, including the Euro or the World Cup.

"As previously announced by Fifa (...), the clubs concerned will be prohibited from participating in any other competition at national, European or world level, and their players could be refused the possibility of representing their national teams", writes UEFA.

This threat of exclusion of dissident clubs would have serious consequences since it would result in depriving the players concerned of any career in selection, even though the prospective teams are full of internationals.

It remains to be seen whether it complies with European competition law, which suggests a possible legal battle.

- Revolution against reform -

"We call on all football fans, supporters and politicians to join us in fighting such a project if it were to be announced," insisted UEFA, saying it was ready to use "all the means in its possession , at all levels, judicial as well as sports ".

Faced with this possible revolution, it is difficult to know what will happen to the expected reform of the Champions League by 2024. This overhaul built in conjunction with the European Association of Clubs (ECA) which brings together the tenors of the continent , is supposed to be adopted on Monday by UEFA with the replacement of the group stage by a mini-championship with 36 clubs intended to guarantee more matches, and therefore more income, to the big clubs.

In the meantime, anti-Superleague positions have multiplied on Sunday, from German League boss Christian Seifert to Spanish League boss Javier Tebas, via the English Federation and the powerful Premier League.

On the fan side, the Football Supporters Europe (FSE) network said it was "fully opposed to the plan to create a secessionist Superleague", claiming that such a closed tournament would be "the last nail in the coffin of European football" in undermining its historical foundations, such as sporting merit as a route to continental competitions.

Symbol of the importance of the file, the Elysée took the floor to castigate a project "threatening the principle of solidarity and sporting merit".

"The French state will support all steps (...) to protect the integrity of federal competitions, whether national or European," the French presidency told AFP.

jed-dec-alu-eba / jr / bpa

© 2021 AFP