UEFA have doubled down on their Super League rejection after ambushing the controversial project's promoters off-in an "incredible" two-and-a-half hour meeting.
The idea of a breakaway European Super League was unanimously rejected by fans in October last year and that led to the six Premier League representatives pulling out, alongside Inter, AC Milan and Atletico Madrid. But Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has refused to admit defeat while Barcelona and Juventus are yet to formally withdraw.
Talks of a revamped competition have been rife and UEFA invited A22 Sports - the promoters of the proposed competition - to a meeting on Tuesday. But according to CBS Sports' Ben Jacobs, they caught the promoters – who expected a one-on-one meeting with UEFA president Alexander Ceferin – off-guard.
It's claimed they ambushed them with more than 30 European football representatives who grilled the promoters on a number of points, and were left disillusioned when they failed to put forward any new ideas despite framing the new project as completely separate to the previous Super League. It’s reported the meeting was "incredible" and failed to reach any breakthrough.
Present at the meeting were PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, La Liga president Javier Tebas and Bayern CEO Olver Kahn among a host of others.
A scathing new statement from European football’s powerbrokers reads: "UEFA accommodated a meeting request from A22 Sports, a private commercial venture, today in Nyon by offering them a chance to address all the genuine representative authorities of European football. Top management of UEFA, led by President Aleksander Ceferin, and high representatives from the national leagues, clubs, players and fans, stressed together that the opposition to the self-proclaimed super league remains overwhelming today as it has been since April 2021.
"In line with the unity of European football, UEFA and the participating football stakeholders once again unanimously rejected the rationale underpinning projects such as ESL during today's discussion. The participants took note, with surprise, the claims of A22 Sports CEO that this company is not representing any clubs in any capacity, including the three clubs who continue to openly support the project.
"UEFA and football stakeholders remain committed to the foundations of European football, which are based on openness, solidarity and meritocracy and serve broader objectives of sporting principles and societal interest, rather than on privilege and self-entitlement.
"This approach has been given unanimous support by the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and extensive support from national governments, public institutions, and stakeholders across the continent."
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