Football: War waged on Super League
Uefa's warning: 'We are not there to support anything like the Harlem Globetrotters'
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Your support makes all the difference.THE UEFA president Lennart Johansson issued the strongest warning yet here in Monaco yesterday that his organisation would not negotiate, or in any way consult, with "private" interests planning a European Super League.
At a press conference he announced the establishment of a task force, whose membership would include the English Premiership's Peter Leaver and a representative of Liverpool, along with Juventus, Bayern Munich, Ajax and Olympic Marseilles - but not, significantly, Arsenal or Manchester United, the two British clubs who have confirmed their interest in a breakaway league.
It will review all aspects of European competition and will report by Christmas. But in the meantime Johansson threatened: "If a deal is done outside our statutes, they have to take the consequences of it."
When asked to expand on this he replied: "It is very difficult for any club to serve two purposes. We are already being criticised for playing too many international matches. But those clubs would exclude themselves from competition by breaking away because it is mission impossible for them to play in a league of 20 teams, two cups, friendlies, and then some 32 matches in some other league."
However, Johansson, who is acutely conscious that the European Union could take a contrary view to Uefa as it did with the controversial Bosman ruling and will be having discussions with their officials, did concede the possibility of Uefa entertaining the concept of a "wild card" into their competitions, which could head off the threat from those wealthy clubs whose recent lack of domestic success had denied them European entry.
"When I first heard about it, I reacted negatively, because I thought it was an idea we would be buying from tennis and elsewhere. But when you hear that clubs like Borussia Dortmund and Milan are the ones concerned I thought that it was something to think about - to give credit to somebody who had perhaps won five titles in 10 years." But he stressed: "There has been no decision taken, and it will be one of the many things the task force will look at."
After several days on the counter-offensive regarding the proposals put forward by Media Partners, the company orchestrating plans for a Super League, which would involve 16 founder members based on their "sporting merit" over the
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