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UEFA president Ceferin calls for maintaining open competition amid new Super League reports

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  Published in Sports and Competition on Wednesday, October 8th 2025 at 9:22 GMT by Associated Press
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UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin Calls the Super League a “Disaster” and Stresses the Need to Protect European Football

When the announcement of the European Super League – a breakaway competition that would lock 12 of the continent’s biggest clubs into a fixed‑size, invitation‑only tournament – reverberated across stadiums and online forums, the reaction from football’s governing bodies was swift and uncompromising. On the day the 12 founding clubs – including AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus, Real Madrid, and others – declared themselves ready to launch the new league, UEFA’s president Aleksander Ceferin delivered a scathing statement that has become a defining moment in the debate over the future of European football.

A Statement of Doom

In an interview with The Guardian the following day, Ceferin referred to the Super League as “a disaster” that would have “grave consequences” for the sport. “The future of football is on the line,” he said. “What these clubs have done is an unprecedented act, a betrayal of the values that underpin the game.” The president’s words echoed the sentiment that the move was not just a new competition; it was an existential threat to the meritocratic structure that had defined the Champions League for more than 50 years.

Ceferin’s condemnation was grounded in the principle that football is a sport for fans, not a closed market for a handful of wealthy clubs. He warned that the Super League would erode the “integrity of the competition” by removing the possibility of a smaller club earning a place on the European stage through sporting merit. “We cannot accept an arrangement that creates an artificial hierarchy,” he insisted. “The Super League will undermine the very idea of competition that drives football.”

Immediate Fallout

The backlash was immediate. Within hours, fan protests erupted across Europe, and three of the founding clubs – AC Milan, Inter Milan, and Juventus – announced that they were withdrawing from the proposed competition. The United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, and France all announced that they would not be hosting the Super League matches. The decision to withdraw was largely driven by the outcry from supporters, who saw the move as an affront to the sport’s democratic spirit.

The reaction from UEFA was swift. The Executive Committee convened and passed a motion that would impose sanctions on any club that had participated in the launch. The sanctions could include a range of disciplinary actions – from fines to expulsion from European competition – and the club's owners were warned that they could lose their seats on the committee itself.

Ceferin confirmed that the European governing body was prepared to pursue legal action where necessary. “We are not just looking at punitive measures; we are looking at protecting the sport,” he said. “The legal team is already working on the framework for the sanctions.”

Broader Implications

While the Super League itself failed to launch, Ceferin’s comments underline a broader conversation about the future of European football. The 2021 experiment, in which the founding clubs claimed that they were offering a new revenue model that would better reflect the realities of modern football, highlighted a tension between financial powerhouses and smaller clubs that thrive on meritocratic advancement.

The fallout from the Super League announcement also sparked a reevaluation of the financial disparities between clubs. Ceferin cited the need to re‑think the distribution of revenue from the Champions League, arguing that “the current model is unsustainable.” He hinted at a possible overhaul of the competition’s structure, which could include a re‑balance of prize money to better support clubs at the bottom of the hierarchy.

In the wider context of football governance, Ceferin’s remarks signal that UEFA remains staunchly opposed to any breakaway initiatives that threaten the integrity of the game. In his view, the Champions League is not merely a competition – it is the core of European football. The 2021 Super League attempt, in his words, “is a failure that will remind us that the future of football is on the line.”

The Road Ahead

What will come next is still uncertain. While the clubs that were at the heart of the Super League have largely re‑integrated into UEFA’s fold, the broader debate over financial inequality and competition structure is unlikely to end anytime soon. Ceferin has already hinted that UEFA will explore reforms designed to level the playing field, such as a more progressive revenue‑sharing model or a restructuring of qualification criteria for the Champions League.

The 2021 Super League fiasco has served as a cautionary tale. In the words of UEFA’s president, “the sport must remain accessible to all.” As the football community moves forward, the lessons from the failed breakaway experiment will continue to shape policy decisions and, ultimately, the future of European competition.