Ministers say they will do ‘whatever it takes’ to block breakaway European Super League

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said that if the football authorities were unable to act, the Government would step in.
Football fans opposing the European Super League proposals outside Old Trafford in Manchester (Tim Markland/PA)
PA Wire
Gavin Cordon19 April 2021

The Government has said it will do “whatever it takes” to prevent a controversial breakaway European Super League involving some of England’s biggest football teams.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said that they were working with the game’s authorities to ensure that the plans could not go ahead as suggested.

In a Commons statement, he said that if the sport was unable to act, then ministers were prepared to step in to protect the national game.

It comes as The Duke of Cambridge, who is the current FA president, has said he “shares the concerns of fans about the proposed Super League and the damage it risks causing to the game we love”.

“Be in no doubt, if they can’t act, we will. We will put everything on the table to prevent this from happening,” Dowden said this evening.

“We are examining every option from governance to competition law to mechanisms that allow football to take place.

“We will be reviewing everything Government does to support these clubs to play. We will do whatever it takes to protect our national game.”

European Super League reaction
PA Wire

His warning follows the announcement that Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester City have signed up to the plan, joining teams from Italy and Spain, provoking outrage across the sport.

Dowden also warned the six football teams that they have a “duty” to taxpayers who have provided them with enormous financial support.

Responding to Conservative MP James Daly (Bury North), the Culture Secretary said: “I would also note that many clubs, including some of those clubs that are seeking to break away in the announcement last night, have benefitted enormously from Government and taxpayer support.

“And I think they should think carefully about the duty that they owe to taxpayers in return and whether they are discharging it with these proposals.”

Labour’s Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) said: “This Super League proposal is the sporting equivalent of a billionaire’s gated community with a football favela for everyone else on the other side of the fence.”

Meanwhile, Labour’s John Spellar (Warley) called on ministers to “drive these sharks out of British football”.

Tracey Crouch, who will lead the review of football governance, said: “I can assure fans that I will work with you, and for you, to consider how we keep the traditions of integrity and fair competition at the heart of the sport.”

The Tory MP is a former sports minister and a keen Tottenham Hotspur fan.

Leeds United v Liverpool - Premier League
Fans hold up a banner in protest against the European Super League outside the stadium prior to the Premier League match between Leeds United and Liverpool at Elland Road
Getty Images

Meanwhile, Football fans have expressed their anger at plans for the European Super League with one group staging a protest outside Old Trafford on Monday afternoon.

Around a dozen football fans gathered outside Manchester United’s stadium with signs to show their opposition to the plans.

Andrew Clark, 22, a residential support worker from Urmston said: “I think it is an absolute cash grab.

“I think that it disrespects and ignores all other football clubs out there and it puts us (Manchester United) on a pedestal and says ‘we are better than you just because we have a lot more money’.

“I think it’s come down to greed rather than actually wanting to play any football.”

Earlier, Boris Johnson said the breakaway plans were not “good news for fans” or for UK football.

Twelve of Europe's top football clubs launch a breakaway Super League
Fans protest the planned European Super League outside the stadium
REUTERS

“I don’t like the look of these proposals,” he told reporters on a campaign visit to Gloucestershire.

“We are going to look at everything that we can do with the football authorities to make sure that this doesn’t go ahead in the way that it’s currently being proposed.”

He said the teams are more than just “great global brands”, adding: “They’re also clubs that have originated historically from their towns, from their cities, from their local communities. They should have a link with those fans, and with the fan base in their community.

“So it is very, very important that that continues to be the case.”

On another campaign visit, in Wednesbury, Mr Johnson said the breakaway league could “take a lot of the cash away from clubs that really need it”.

“I think it’s wrong, I think it’s something that’s going in the wrong direction for football – for great English and British clubs – and it’s going in the wrong direction for fans.

“I can’t think that it’s the right way forward.”

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