Boris Johnson says Government may consider laws to stop European Super League
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the Government could take legislative action to stop the European Super League.
The controversial plans have been universally condemned by fans, players and politicians since it was first announced on Sunday evening.
UEFA, FIFA and the Premier League have all hit out of the super clubs attempting to break away.
And Johnson has offered his full support, vowing the Government will take any step they can to ensure it doesn't go ahead.
"Our first step is clearly to back the football authorities in this country – the FA, the Premier League – in the steps they're taking to counteract this initiative," he told a press conference.
"Be in no doubt that we don't support it. It's not in the interests of fans, it's not in the interests of football.
"How can it be right to have a situation in which you create a kind of cartel which stops clubs competing against each other, playing against each other, with all the hope and excitement that gives to the fans up and down the country?
"It offends against the basic principles of competition and if necessary, in order to protect that principle of competition, we will seek legislative solution but we hope that they can find a way forward themselves."
Earlier on Tuesday, according to sources, Johnson spoke of the new plans and told an event: “We should drop a legislative bomb to stop it – and we should do it now.”
Johnson's comments come 24 hours after Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden vowed to try and stop the European Super League.
"Football is in our national DNA," he said in the House of Commons.
"We invented it, we helped export it around the world, and it has been a central part of British life for over a century. Football clubs aren’t just businesses; they define communities across the country.
"So along with almost every member of this House I suspect, I was appalled by the announcement made late last night that a handful of clubs are proposing to form their own breakaway European league.
"These six clubs announced this decision without any consultation with football authorities, or with the government. But worst of all, they announced it without any dialogue whatsoever with their own fans.
"It was a tone-deaf proposal, but the owners of those clubs won’t have been able to ignore the near universal roar of outrage from all parts of the football community over the past 24 hours. This move goes against the very spirit of the game."
- European Super League
- Boris Johnson
- Premier League
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