Football: English clubs leave ship, Super League sinks
An English supporter expresses his hostility to the Super League.
JUSTIN TALLIS AFP
Text by: Farid Achache Follow
3 min
The six English clubs initially engaged in this Super League announced Tuesday, April 20 in the evening their withdrawal from this project.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson welcomed this Wednesday April 21 the withdrawal of English clubs from the controversial Super League project, believing that it was the "
good
outcome".
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The Super League is a bit like the British comedy of William Shakespeare's "
Much Ado About Nothing
" (Much ado about nothing).
Ironically, it was the English clubs that left the ship first.
Barely 48 hours after the announcement of a private competition project carried by twelve major European clubs, Manchester City was the first club to announce its withdrawal on Tuesday night.
Arsenal: "
We made a mistake and we apologize for it
"
The Mancunian club were followed by Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester United.
It must be said that on the other side of the Channel, the initiative of the twelve clubs appeared to be an affront.
From British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to Prince William, including opposition leader Labor Keir Starmer and the official football bodies, everyone was on the fence about this project.
And even Parliament had taken up the question.
"
We made a mistake and we apologize for it,
" Arsenal wrote in a statement, summing up in one sentence what supporters, authorities and governments have been struggling to point out for the past two days.
The players of Liverpool, a rebellious club, have issued a joint statement to affirm their rejection.
This opinion joined that of Pep Guardiola, star coach of Manchester City, another dissident club.
For the Catalan, "
it is not sport if success is guaranteed or if losing does not matter
."
The English clubs out, now remain three Spaniards and three Italians, but still no German or French, two major nations that may have missed the Super League to present a common front.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson welcomed Wednesday April 21 the withdrawal of English clubs, believing that it was the "
good outcome
".
"
Rebuilding unity
"
In a statement, the creators of the Super League reacted to this Brexit of the English clubs by announcing that they would "
reconsider the most appropriate steps to reshape the project
", which is akin to a suspension of the project.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin was delighted on Wednesday in a statement that six English clubs were withdrawing from the 12 promoters of a private Super League, promising to "
rebuild the unity
" of European football and "
to move forward together
”.
After threatening last Monday to upset the established order of European football, the controversial Super League project finds itself cornered by the withdrawal of its English members, to the point of fearing further defections on Wednesday and complete failure.
The defeat is significant for the president of the Super League and Real Madrid, Florentino Perez, as well as the vice-president Andrea Agnelli, president of Juventus Turin, who were at the initiative of this closed league.
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