June 09, (THEWILL)- In a weird twist of expectations, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has officially announced the suspension of the proceedings against three clubs of the 12 original founding members of the European Super League (ESL) project, who decided against pulling out of the ESL despite the backlash and threats.
The trio of Barcelona and Real Madrid from La Liga and Juventus in Serie A, stubbornly held on to the idea of creating a new breakaway closed-system competition outside the norm and remained recalcitrant in the face of isolation, persecution and trial.
The statement from the continental body making this suspension of the process public read: “Following the opening of disciplinary proceedings against FC Barcelona, Juventus FC and Real Madrid CF for a potential violation of UEFA’s legal framework in connection with the so-called ‘Super League’ project, the UEFA Appeals Body has decided to stay the proceedings until further notice.”
Coincidentally, it comes on the same day that the “Big Six” of the English Premier League namely Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur were slammed with fines and agreed to terms that will prevent anything of the sort recurring in future.
THEWILL recalls that together with the six English teams, Inter and AC Milan in Italy, and Atletico Madrid from La Liga, were all initially part of the project but decided to withdraw due to pressure from fans, players, coaches and the football bodies like UEFA and FIFA.
As THEWILL reported on Monday, June 7, the Swiss Ministry of Justice had indicated that neither UEFA nor FIFA could take any retaliatory action against the aforementioned three European football powerhouses. This contributed to the basis of the decision by UEFA to suspend proceedings.
With UEFA rounding up with the words “until further notice”, it does appear as though the last has not been heard of the issues surrounding these trio, the breakaway project and UEFA.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
