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Juventus crest: Out of the Super League project?
Photo: MARCO BERTORELLO / AFP
The Italian football record champion Juventus is apparently planning its exit from the controversial Super League project. The Turin-based club had informed the other two remaining founding members, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, that it wanted to discuss a possible exit with the clubs. This was announced by the club and at the same time denied that it had been threatened with sanctions by the European Football Union Uefa in the event of adherence to the Super League.
The top three clubs are the only remaining founding members of the Super League. The project had failed in its original form in April 2021. Uefa had put up massive resistance. Of the initial twelve top clubs that had sought a spin-off, nine withdrew within a few hours.
Verdict is imminent
The European Super League Company had filed a lawsuit against Uefa and the world governing body Fifa with a court in Madrid, which in turn had appealed to the European Court of Justice. A ruling by the ECJ in the case is expected shortly, and an opinion in December had strengthened Uefa's position.
The sports project developer A22, which is pushing ahead with the implementation of the Super League plans, published details last February for another alternative to the well-known European football competitions. "A European football league should be an open competition with 60 to 80 teams in several divisions, in which the revenues are distributed across the entire pyramid," the agency said. Participation is "based on the sporting performance achieved during the season".
The long-time serial champion Juve had finished the past season in Italy only in seventh place due to a point deduction and thus qualified for the third-class Conference League. Observers suspect, however, that Uefa could still pronounce a ban against the Turin-based company because of the numerous sports law proceedings.
PTZ/dpa