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Montreux (dpa) - The pursuit of power and billions divides European football.
After the excitement about the planned Super League and the decision to reform the Champions League, the top officials of the 55 UEFA national associations are meeting for the congress in Montreux.
The general assembly is overshadowed by the debate about the future of the premier class, which is conducted with maximum emotion.
How serious is the UEFA threat of exclusion from the European Championship for top stars of the Super Leauge clubs and immediate exclusion from the Champions League?
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UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin made it clear with harsh criticism that he would like to ban the renegade clubs and their players from all UEFA and FIFA competitions immediately.
But an EM without Cristiano Ronaldo, without Toni Kroos, without Sergio Ramos?
And a Champions League triumph for Paris Saint-Germain at the Green Table after the exclusion of Real Madrid, Manchester City and Chelsea?
This scenario sounds far too radical.
It's not that simple anyway.
The founding clubs have already reported legal steps to ensure security.
The question of who is allowed to play where goes deep into EU law.
Further UEFA discussions on the subject are expected today, with the Executive Committee meeting in a video conference on Friday.
With such drastic measures in the middle of the Corona crisis, UEFA would massively damage itself, both ideally and, above all, economically.
In the turbulent mood, however, a lot also seems possible.
At least, UEFA will maintain the maximum threat for a while.
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What is the position of the German clubs?
The German record champions FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund have positioned themselves relatively clearly.
"FC Bayern did not participate in the planning of a Super League," said Bayern boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
BVB managing director Hans-Joachim Watzke said that the opinions of BVB and Bayern in this matter were congruent with those of the club association ECA, which had expressed clear criticism.
However, if there are increasing signs that the founding clubs are campaigning heavily for the two long-standing German flagship clubs (and possibly also for RB Leipzig), further positioning would also be necessary for the future in order to calm the fan base.
RB Leipzig's CEO Oliver Mintzlaff said the club rejects the Super League.
The fact remains that the new competition is to be played with 20 teams - so eight participants are still missing.
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What effects does the Super League have on the transfer market?
For more than a year, club football has had to live with gloomy forecasts and business figures because of the corona pandemic.
This would no longer apply to the clubs of the Super League; a total of 3.5 billion euros is to be distributed to the 15 founding members.
If the competition starts in the foreseeable future, the top clubs would become even more overwhelming, which could lure players in comparison with fantasy sums.
The consequences hardly seem to be in sight.
What
is
still happening in Montreux today
?
Today (from 10 a.m.) the umbrella organization's congress will occupy important positions in its executive committee and in the council of the world association FIFA. Suddenly three Germans are in focus. The DFB Vice-Presidents Rainer Koch for the UEFA Exko and Peter Peters for the FIFA Council are available for election. Peters is one of four candidates for four places and Koch is one of nine for eight places.
But the great attention is paid to Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
The CEO of FC Bayern was nominated by the European Club Association to replace Andrea Agnelli on Monday evening.
As club boss of Juventus Turin, the Italian is one of the main people responsible for the Super League and was most severely attacked verbally by Ceferin and called a liar.
Rummenigge enjoys a high international reputation and was once an Exko member as head of the club association.
He was inherited by Agnelli.
What about Munich's role as a European Championship host?
The venue problem will only be an issue behind the scenes at the congress.
The DFB and the Bavarian capital have to improve their concept for the expected spectator option in the corona pandemic at the EM by Friday.
A tightrope of political football diplomacy.
If this does not succeed to the satisfaction of UEFA, there is still a threat of the European Championship ban for the German venue.
Rummenigge could be in demand as a negotiator for his hometown in a new role.
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© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210419-99-269685 / 2
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