Aleksander Ceferin attacks Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus: «They are cartels over meritocracy».
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin on Wednesday slammed the European Super League, which he warned «has become a Little Red Riding Hood character: a wolf disguised as a grandmother ready to devour» European soccer, while attacking Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Juventus -the precursor clubs of the project-, which he described as «cartels above meritocracy and democracy».
A wolf disguised as a grandmother
«Those who promote this project say they want to save soccer. The Super League has become a Little Red Riding Hood character: a wolf disguised as a grandmother ready to devour you. Who are they fooling? Nobody. They are cartels over meritocracy and democracy. It is money over titles. The domestic leagues must remain the cornerstones of soccer. We need everyone’s support to protect the model,» Ceferin said during his speech at the 47th Congress of the body. The Slovenian, appointed UEFA president in September 2016, was re-elected as head of European soccer’s governing body until 2027, following the meeting held at the Palacio de Congresos in Lisbon, Portugal. It will be his third and last mandate, as UEFA regulations do not allow him to aspire to more.
Cynicism about morality
During his speech at the congress, Ceferin, bolstered by his fight against the Super League, insisted that the project led by Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Juventus is «cynicism over morality, selfishness over solidarity, greed over benevolence». We must never forget how fragile soccer is,» he reminded. «There is no room for cartels in European soccer. Soccer belongs to no one, in fact it belongs to all of us. The general interest must be above the individual interest of three clubs, two financiers and their spokesman,» Ceferin reiterated against the three founding clubs of the Super League.
Premier League «egalitarian and supportive» model
In addition, the UEFA president defended the Premier League’s «egalitarian and supportive» model. «Jealousy is a bad advisor. Before it was UEFA that took the criticism, now it seems that it is the Premier League that is demonized and should be overthrown. Rather than a model to be destroyed, it is one to be imitated,» he said.
Change in European soccer
Finally, Ceferin warned of a change in European soccer, which he now described as «unrecognizable.» «Clubs have been bought by investment funds, local identities have been lost and costs have skyrocketed, with certain clubs managed in a risky, even reckless manner that defies all logic and principles,» he warned.
The danger of privatization
«We must put an end to the myth that the privatization of soccer is an unstoppable process. It is a present danger, as we have seen, but together we can and will inevitably succeed in changing the course of history. Soccer is and will always remain the people’s sport,» Ceferin concluded.
