How and why in France they fight against the Super League
France: Super League, the fault of the Americans and money? Enrico Martial's article on the French debate
On April 19, Radio Monte Carlo contacted the Elysée and was told that President Macron "welcomes the position of French clubs to refuse to participate" in the Super League. The project would be an attack on the "principle of solidarity and sporting merit".
Paris-Saint-Germain is waiting for it and Olympique Marseille himself manifests hostility to the initiative both in its historical leadership and in the most famous fan, the President of the Republic.
Interviewed by Le Figaro , Vincent Chaudel, of the "Osservatorio Sport Business", recalls how the project had already emerged with Gianni Infantino, at the end of last year, for a Super League led by Fifa, the clubs would have taken him at his word by overcoming him with its own initiative.
It is therefore difficult to distinguish between good and bad, as the current narrative simplifies. And it's a question of money, if you think that JP-Morgan would be willing to put 6 billion euros on the plate: for PSG it would be 350 million pro-quota, much more than the 135 million it had recovered by going to the final of the Champions League last year.
Chaudel considers the positions of OM and PSG to be prudent: if the operation goes to ruin, they would look good with UEFA but if they continue their presence would be indispensable, considering that the 6 billion are calculated also taking into account the French teams . However, the sports editorial staff of Le Figaro reminds that PSG and OM only have 14 days to decide.
Les Echos has dedicated several articles to the issue , and among other things evokes the 1995 Bosman ruling of the EU Court of Justice, which opened the single market also in football and to the free movement of players in the European Union. This too is a supranational and European case, with the affirmation of a demand on a broader level than the national one, even by the fans themselves, who now look more at the comparison between great European teams than the simple national circuit. The economic effects are consequent.
L 'Equipe for its part stood in the wake of the opposition to the project, highlighting, for example, the French association opposed positions of the fans. It is a call to battle, for example against the French football federation (FFF), which is invited to "wake up", considering that "it has refused to play its role as defender of the general interest and popular football against the financial interests of the oligarchs ”.
Le Monde also dealt with it, albeit with less passion than the rest of the media, with an editorial that ranks in opposition to the Super League project. In addition to reconstructing the story, he contrasts the "end of selection based on merit" with "a self-proclaimed elite on the single criterion of money". Above all – with the anti-American echoes always present in France – it highlights that this "elite Barnum circus" draws inspiration from the United States and their super leagues of basketball or rugby, also taking into account that four clubs (Manchester, Arsenal, Liverpool and Milan) have owners from across the Atlantic.
The hope lies in the fans of the same teams involved – says Le Monde – for example of Liverpool itself. On last night's news, France 2 recalled the topic among its latest reports and emphasized the financial question. European football is known on a global scale: with the Champions League it recovers just over 2 billion with about 36 teams, with the Super League it could generate estimated revenues of between 5 and 8 billion euros with about twenty teams.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/come-e-perche-in-francia-si-picchia-contro-la-super-league/ on Tue, 20 Apr 2021 14:23:30 +0000.