The decision to temporarily suspend the implementation of the European football Superleague project just two days after its official announcement came as a surprise to many.
The refusal to participate in the tournament of the English giants caused a chain reaction and provoked several other clubs to take similar measures.
The withdrawal has already been announced by the Spanish "Atlético", as well as the Italian "Milan" and "Inter".
Thus, at the moment the initiative is supported by only three teams: Real, Barcelona and Juventus.
One of the first to comment on the decision of a number of clubs to refuse membership in the Super League was the head of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), Alexander Čeferin.
The functionary appreciated the fact that the teams drew the right conclusions from the situation.
“Yesterday I said that it is commendable to admit my mistake, and these clubs have made a big mistake.
But now they are back, and I know that they have a lot to offer not only to our championships, but to the whole of European football.
Now it is important to move on, to restore the unity that existed in our sport before, and to go forward together, "- quotes Cheferin BBC.
At the same time, the honorary president of the Russian Football Union (RFU) Vyacheslav Koloskov admitted that he was confident in the fragility of the project.
According to him, he saw neither clear plans for the development of competitions, nor a desire to develop the sport.
“I predicted that the Super League project would fail. This is the third attempt to make my own independent organization, but this time apart from demagoguery and general reasoning, I saw nothing else. The project was based not on the idea of the prosperity of clubs and federations, but on a personal interest - a desire to pay off their debts at the expense of the collapse of European football. Half of these clubs are bankrupt. Real Madrid don't even have the money to sign a new contract with Sergio Ramos. The idea of the Super League was clear from the start: to appropriate money and pay off debts. This league had no prospect. Thank God that their own federations took up arms against the project, even the RFU opposed it! They didn't ask anyone: neither the footballers, nor the associations, nor the footballers' union. This dummy was doomed to failure, "- quotes Koloskov" Championship ".
Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin also considers the prospects for ESL very vague.
In his opinion, the project can already be considered closed.
“And its (Superleague - RT) practically, one might say, does not exist.
It was an initiative of individual clubs, we understand what assessment it received from the International Olympic Committee, FIFA, UEFA, RFU.
Therefore, I absolutely support this opinion, ”Matytsin told TASS.
The imminent freeze of the project was not shocked by the former head coach of London Arsenal Arsene Wenger, who at one time predicted the creation of such a tournament.
Apparently, the French specialist did not consider the current format of the competition to meet the needs.
“I'm not surprised it didn't last long. I didn’t believe it would come true from the very beginning. She (Superleague -
RT
) ignored the basic principles of sports merit. If you ignore this, then you are destroying the internal competition, so the fans will never agree to this. Quite fair, "- quotes the words of Wenger BeIN Sports.
It is worth noting that a number of representatives of the football community reacted with humor to the news of the suspension of the European Super League project.
For example, Manchester City midfielder Raheem Sterling posted a short message on Twitter, in which he said goodbye to the new tournament, and also provided him with the appropriate emoji.
His teammate, defender Aymeric Laporte, performed in a similar style.
The Spaniard wrote, "It was fast," and added a famous snippet from The Simpsons.
It shows how Homer Simpson's father enters an entertainment establishment and immediately leaves it when he sees his grandson.
pic.twitter.com/Hkjs4QzHFx
- Aymeric Laporte (@Laporte) April 20, 2021
In a similar style, the information about the fate of ESL was commented on in the press service of the Dutch "Ajax".
An episode from the movie "TV Presenter: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" appeared on the club's Twitter page, in which he utters the phrase: "The situation quickly escalated."
A midfielder of the Turkish "Fenerbahce" said that there is only one Super League in the world, hinting at the name of the Turkish football championship.
pic.twitter.com/IhhCtqjsmk
- AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) April 20, 2021
The well-known players of the Premier League clubs, who actively opposed the creation of the championship, did not stand aside.
So, ex-Manchester United defender Gary Neville was photographed with a glass of red wine and attached the caption: “For the Super League”, and former Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann laughed not only at the collapse of ESL, but also at its leader - the president of Real Madrid »Florentino Perez.
Earlier, the functionary expressed the idea of shortening the duration of matches, citing the fact that it is difficult for young fans to watch football for 90 minutes.
“The life of the Super League turned out to be shorter than football matches as conceived by Perez.
Great job, football community, ”Hamann tweeted.
Former Arsenal and Germany striker Lukas Podolski was a little more restrained, but also did not miss the opportunity to prick ESL executives.
“That's what I play for.
This is passion.
This is football!
Goodbye, Super League, ”the German said in a message.
To The Super League 🥂 pic.twitter.com/zcHbsJ0DG0
- Gary Neville (@ GNev2) April 20, 2021
Representatives of the Russian sports community also did not miss the news about the temporary suspension of the Superleague project.
So, in the English-language account of the Moscow "Spartak" on Twitter in a humorous manner they honored the memory of the tournament and assured that "no one will miss it."
This event was not ignored by representatives of the Continental Hockey League, who know firsthand what it means to play in the Super League (from 1996 to 2008, the national championship was called the Russian Hockey Super League).
The press service of Omsk "Avangard" appealed to the founders of the competition and urged them not to get upset.
“We appeal to Real Madrid, Chelsea and other clubs from the Super League: we, of course, were also upset today because of the defeat, but why do you react so harshly, immediately close it.
The score in the series is only 1: 1, there are two home matches ahead in Balashikha, do not hang your nose! "
- said in a statement "Vanguard".
At the same time, representatives of Nizhnekamsk "Neftekhimik" gave a simple explanation why the Russian hockey Super League existed for 12 years, and the European football one - only a few days.
“The last Super League lasted longer because we were there,” the club said on Twitter.
It is noteworthy that "Ak Bars" also laughed at the ESL theme, offering to organize its own Super League in the shortest possible time and "play the Gagarin Cup on the sly".
However, after the news about the imminent disintegration of the football tournament, the press service of Kazan residents decided to abandon this venture.
“Hang up, it didn't work out,” wrote the Kazan team on Twitter.
European Super League 🥀
19/04/21 - 20/04/21
You will not be missed.
pic.twitter.com/d6WlTDJNdr
- FC Spartak Moscow (@fcsm_eng) April 20, 2021