It is not yet a formal exclusion. But it is a symbolic marginalization. The leaders of the Premier League, the first division of English football, will meet on Tuesday, April 20 in the morning to discuss the follow-up to be given to the European Super League project. They will do it without the six English clubs involved in this project, which caused, in England, the amazement of football fans and lovers, as witnessed in the last minutes of the “Match of the Day”. BBC flagship program, Sunday April 18.
“All of us today, the fans, the commentators, share our dismay and our anger.”, dropped Mark Chapman, the show’s host, usually very subdued. This shows that the owners of these six great clubs are not interested in the fans, in the tradition, in the history, in the passion of the fans and the clubs ”, Former Liverpool player Danny Murphy added, as former Manchester United player Dion Dublin put it: “They are stealing our game.”
We are not joking about soccer in the country that codified this sport more than a century and a half ago. Here, the round ball is a story of social classes, rivalries between neighborhoods, heroic stories. Of course, it has been a long time since money changed the sport. The Premier League is the richest sports competition in Europe. The equipment has been bought for two decades by oligarchs and emirs of gas and oil, thus acquiring media virginity.
The government invokes the competition law
The idea of having a separate competition, with a place reserved for twelve clubs, seems to go too far. Political end, Boris Johnson was not wrong, opposing this project “What would be very harmful for football”. “It would touch the heart of our national game”said the Prime Minister. The government wants to do “Everything is possible” to prevent this Super League, Sports Minister Oliver Dowden said on Monday, citing legislation against anti-competitive practices, which prohibits the formation of cartels or monopolies.
Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham, Arsenal and Chelsea supporters: the “big six” – they are not kind to their own clubs either. Ian Stirling, who runs one of Manchester United’s fan associations, has sobs in his voice. “It is our history and the owners [des clubs] rob us for money. These people don’t know anything about Manchester, Liverpool, the rivalry between Manchester United and Manchester City … “
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