UEFA Warn There Will Be “Consequences” for Super League Clubs

On Wednesday, UEFA seemed as though they would seek to move on as quickly as possible following the failed attempt by 12 clubs including Liverpool and Manchester United to found a short-lived breakaway European Super League.

Today, though, after further discussions with the governing body’s stakeholders, it appears as though punishment could still be on the table, with president Aleksander Čeferin saying discussions about that will be held over the coming week.

“I think those who claim to be completely calm in this situation are not telling the truth,” Čeferin said of the matter today. “The situation is very complicated for them and not for the UEFA, which has 235 out of 247 clubs on its side.

“Indeed, 244. They are all with us. Yesterday I received messages of support from virtually every club in Europe. So, now we expect everyone to realise their mistake and accept the consequences. We will talk about it next week.”

The change in tone could at least in part be motivated by the fact that while Liverpool and the other English clubs have all backed out, three of UEFA’s 247 clubs have as yet refused to let the dream of a Super League die.

Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona along with Serie A’s Juventus have as yet not formally abandoned the project, with Madrid president Florentino Perez in particular continuing to push for a Super League.

On that front, reports today out of Spain have claimed UEFA are currently seeking to expel Madrid—but not Super League sides Manchester City or Chelsea—from this season’s Champions League, where they’re in the semi finals.

Čeferin further noted that in the coming discussions about potential consequences for the breakaway sides, UEFA will likely be more generously disposed towards the clubs that pulled out early, including the English six.

“If these clubs want to play in our competition again, they will have to get close to us and we will have to evaluate what happened,” UEFA’s president added. “I don’t want to go into details, as we are still talking to our legal team.

“I would say that the English clubs have made a very good decision and we will take that into account.”