MONTREUX (Switzerland): FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on Tuesday that breakaway Super League clubs cannot be “half in, half out” of the established football system, warning they could could face “consequences”, as the backlash built against the deeply divisive plans.

UEFA has threatened to ban the 12 clubs, who include Manchester United and Real Madrid, from domestic and international competition and Infantino leant his support to European football’s governing body as it attempts to quash an initiative that threatens its prized Champions League and the health of domestic competitions such as England’s Premier League.

In a speech that seemed to blame the club owners and absolve players, Infantino said he can only strongly disapprove of the Super League.

We strongly disapprove ... if some go their own way then they must live with the consequences of their choice, either you are in, or you are out. You cannot be half in and half out.” Infantino told the UEFA’s congress in Montreux.

Twelve powerful clubs — six from England, and three each from Spain and Italy — have signed up for the Super League, which offers guaranteed spots for its founding members and billions of dollars in payments.

Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are the English clubs involved, together with Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid from Spain and Italian trio Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan.

Currently, teams have to qualify for the Champions League each year through their national competitions, and face a lengthy group phase before reaching the high-profile latter stages.

The Super League would guarantee a spot for its founding members every year, removing the uncertainty of qualification and the accompanying risks to revenue.

In a direct appeal to the owners of the English clubs in the Super League project, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin urged them to change their minds out of respect for football fans.

Ceferin both cajoled and criticised the six-club English group made up of American billionaires, Middle East royalty and a Russian oligarch less than 48 hours after the Super League was launched.

“Gentlemen, you made a huge mistake,” Ceferin said in his speech to European football leaders. “Some will say it is greed, others [will say] disdain arrogance, flippancy or complete ignorance of Englands football culture. It does not matter.

What does matter is that there is still time to change your mind. Everyone makes mistakes.”

Ceferin urged them to turn back out of respect for fans in England, aiming another barb at what he earlier called a few selfish people.

“Come to your senses,” he said. “Not out of love for football because I imagine some of you don’t have much of that.”

Ceferin also lavished praise on UEFA executive committee colleague Nasser al-Khelaifi, the president of French champions Paris St Germain. PSG has so far resisted offers to be one of the 15 founding Super League members. Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund have also stayed out.

“Nasser, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You showed that you are a great man,” Ceferin told the Qatari official before also citing Bayern chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

Ceferin said fans and governments have supported UEFA in resisting the proposed 20-team Super League, which threatens to directly challenge the Champions League and damage the historic pyramid structure of European football.

“We cannot lose this match,” said Ceferin, a Slovenian lawyer.

At the same congress, the International Olympic Committee warned that the existing structure of European sports is under threat by self-interest and pure commercialism.

It is challenged by a purely profit-driven approach that ignores the... social values of sports and real needs in the post-coronavirus world,” IOC President Thomas Bach said.

There have been few voices that have backed the breakaway league, with owners of the 12 teams conspicuous by their absence.

The first senior figure of any club involved to publicly talk about the move was Real Madrid supremo Florentino Perez — the new chairman of the Super League — who insisted he is trying to “save football” with the move.

Whenever there is a change, there are always people who oppose it... and we are doing this to save football at this critical moment,” Perez said on the Spanish TV show El Chiringuito de Jugones.

Audiences are decreasing and rights are decreasing and something had to be done. We are all ruined. Television has to change so we can adapt.

Young people are no longer interested in football. Why not? Because there are a lot of poor quality games and they are not interested, they have other platforms on which to distract themselves.”

Perez, said it was“impossible” that clubs would be thrown out of the Champions League, whose upcoming semi-finals feature Chelsea, City and Real.

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said he will not comment on the proposal.

I’m not here to talk about that,” Zidane told a news conference ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Cadiz in La Liga.

But City manager Pep Guardiola came out against a closed competition, which he said is“not sport”.

It’s not a sport when success is already guaranteed, it’s not a sport if it doesn’t matter if you lose,” said the Spaniard.

Meanwhile, the German Football Association (DFB) on Tuesday demanded the suspension of the 12 clubs until they reconsider.

The clubs and their youth teams should be banned from all competitions until they think of their many supporters who have made them into top clubs in the world in the first place, and not only of their purses,” DFB President Fritz Keller said on the official DFB Twitter account.

Premier League clubs were meeting on Tuesday without the ‘Big Six’ who have joined the breakaway Super League. The meeting was expected to decide on a strategy to be taken by the remaining 14 clubs to protect the league and their interests.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned“no action is off the table” — including new legislation — to stop the European Super League after meeting with football chiefs and fan groups on Tuesday.

The prime minister confirmed the government will not stand by while a small handful of owners create a closed shop,” Downing Street said in a statement.

Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2021