UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has confirmed that any player who participate in the European Super League will be banned from representing their national side at major tournaments.
On Sunday, 12 teams from England, Spain and Italy, which includes the Premier League’s ‘big six’, announced their plan to form a European Super League and break away from the Champions League and Europa League format.
However during a Zoom media conference in Switzerland on Monday, Ceferin blasted the plans and warned players that they will risk missing out on World Cup and European Championship tournaments if they participate in the newly formed competition.
‘The players who will play in teams that might play in the closed league will be banned from playing in World Cup and Euros,’ Ceferin said. ‘They could not represent national team in any matches.’
Ceferin added: ‘I cannot stress more strongly at the moment that UEFA and the football world stand together alongside this disgraceful, self-serving project from a select few clubs in Europe fuelled by greed above all else.
‘This idea is a spit in the face of all football lovers and our society as well. We must not let them take it [football] away from us.
‘Not only the football world, but society and governments are united. It’s part of our culture. We are all united against this nonsense of a project.
‘We have the English FA, Spanish Federation, Italian Federation, the Premier League. La Liga, Serie A and FIFA, unanimous in opposition to these cynical plans which are completely against what football should be.
‘The greatest sport is based on open competition, integrity and sporting merit and we will never allow that to change.’
