What has UEFA boss Aleksander Ceferin said about the European Super League?
Ceferin’s comments were shared by La Liga chief Javier Tebas, along with a bizarre ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ cartoon.
The debate over the European Super League has reared its head once again after Aleksander Ceferin slammed its proponents at the UEFA Congress in Lisbon.
Ceferin, head of European football’s governing body, has been a vocal opponent of the plan and is pursuing legal avenues to prevent the Super League idea being renewed.
“Those who promote this project are now claiming that they want to save football. In the space of a few months, the Super League has turned into a character in Little Red Riding Hood: a wolf disguised as a grandmother, ready to eat you up,” Ceferin told the UEFA Congress on Wednesday
He outlined what he believes are the motivations of those who push the Super League, accusing them of worsening the game in pursuit of greater profits.
“We have cynicism over morality. We have selfishness over solidarity. We have greed over benevolence. Self-absorption over openness to others. Self-interest over altruism. Shameful lies over the truth. Heirs over builders. Cartel over meritocracy and democracy. Stock prices over sporting merit. The quest for profit over the quest for trophies.”
The European Super League was officially announced in April 2021 with 12 of the continent’s biggest clubs signing up for the new project. However within days the proposal came crashing down as many of the clubs involved back-tracked after significant pressure from fans.
La Liga chief Javier Tebas posts bizarre ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ video
As of 2023, there are only three clubs still aligned with the European Super League project; Barcelona, Juventus and Real Madrid. The two La Liga clubs insist that the new competition is a vital stream of revenue that will stabilise European football, but the Spanish league has dismissed those claims.
Javier Tebas, president of La Liga, shared Ceferin’s statement on his Twitter account, saying “Is anybody fooled? Domestic leagues must remain the cornerstones of football. We need everyone’s support to protect this model.”
He shared Ceferin’s remarks alongside a two-minute cartoon which compares the European Super League to the wolf in the fairytale ‘Little Red Riding Hood’. In the story, the wolf disguises itself as an innocent old lady to escape detection and carry out its sinister plot.
Quite a stretch from Tebas, and the video received a number of incredulous comments from football fans.