‘Let’s see what happens’ Ceferin threats Juve, Real Madrid and Barcelona over Super League sanctions

May 7, 2022

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin confirms that Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid could be sanctioned following their involvement in the Super League: ‘Let’s see what happens…’

The three European giants are the only ones not to have formally withdrawn from the breakaway competition that was launched one year ago by 12 elite clubs. However, it collapsed within 48 hours with a decisive push from England. Premier League clubs were the first ones to leave the competition and return to ECA, followed by Atletico Madrid, Inter and Milan.

Juve, Real Madrid and Barcelona are still out of ECA and could face sanctions for still being involved in the competition after that the Madrid Commercial Court lifted the injunction imposed on UEFA at the end of April.

Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid risk Champions League exclusion in 2023-24

Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid could receive fines or even be excluded from European competitions from 2023-24. UEFA President Ceferin confirms that these three clubs could face sanctions in the future.

“Yes, of course. It’s possible. But let’s see what happens,” he told AS.

“We just got the decision. We are glad that it finally came. I was shocked by the behaviour of the previous judge – we were not even offered a hearing; we just received the decision with precautionary measures. Now, finally, we had a proper hearing, and these measures are lifted in their entirety. I trust the Spanish authorities and courts. Let’s see what happens.

“Look, this project – which I am quite fed up with talking about because it doesn’t exist anymore – would absolutely ruin football,” he continued.

“When I saw the reaction of English fans, I was impressed. Fans in France and Germany didn’t have to do anything because their clubs didn’t participate. And I was a bit surprised by the fans’ soft reaction in Spain and Italy, although I do understand it. Sometimes these things go a bit slower in some countries, and since the Italian teams and Atletico Madrid quickly abandoned the project, there was not enough time to have a stronger reaction from the fans. I was surprised by the lack of reaction from Barcelona’s fans, as I always considered it a people’s club.”

Ceferin also confirms that the clubs didn’t inform him before launching the project in April 2021.

“They didn’t. When you do something like this, it makes more sense for them to approach us than the other way around. But they never did. The only ‘greetings’ UEFA got from them came from courts, as they tried to challenge us everywhere. We never said they could not play in their own competition, because they can if they want.

“It’s funny that these were the clubs who applied first for a place in the Champions League. If they play something else, they cannot play in our competitions. That is not a monopoly. They can create their own UEFA and do whatever they think is right. You know, I showed them a lot of respect in the past. I don’t want to speak about the chairman of Juventus, but in my relationship with him, I was very open and honest. I never said this before, but I also invited the President of Real [Madrid], Florentino Pérez, to Nyon before any of this happen to speak about the future competitions. He cancelled the meeting with a text message just 24 hours before because of what he called ‘an event related to basketball.’

“With Bartomeu, I never spoke. In a way, he was already on his way out of the club. So they all had a chance to speak, and we have never been aggressive or arrogant. The announcement of that project was an act of unbelievable arrogance from their side, which is probably why they don’t want to communicate with UEFA. But that never influenced how we treated them in our competitions. You can see from their success – Real Madrid will play the Champions League final and Barcelona Women’s Champions League final. That is a clear signal that our competitions are healthy, fair and correct.”

Aleksander Ceferin