By CHRISTOPHER GUMINA, Column Contributor
Just as fast as it arrived, the Super League disappeared. All six of the English clubs (Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, and Liverpool) pulled out just days after the announcement, and most of the other teams followed. Juventus, Barcelona, and Real Madrid are the only clubs remaining, and given the current situation it seems impossible that they will be able to maintain their membership much longer.
On April 21st, after most of the teams had already withdrawn, the Super League released a statement reading: “Given the current circumstances, we shall reconsider the most appropriate steps to reshape the project, always having in mind our goals of offering fans the best experience possible while enhancing solidarity payments for the entire football community.”
Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez, who was one of the driving forces behind the creation of the league and would have served as its chairman, claimed that the league was merely on “standby,” as all the clubs had signed binding contracts and couldn’t leave so easily. It appears at the moment as if the clubs that did leave are willing to risk potential legal action in order to avoid further infuriating their fanbase.
Each of the six English clubs apologized in one manner or another – Arsenal and Chelsea released open letters, while Liverpool team owner John Henry – also co-owner of the Boston Red Sox of MLB fame – recorded a short video – both to their fans and to the other 14 Premier League clubs that had not been included in the plan. Man United executive Ed Woodward, who had been at the club since its takeover by the Glazer family in 2005, resigned almost immediately. It was reported that this was due to differences with the ownership group over the ESL, but has been more broadly intimated that Woodward was a supporter of the league from the start and was simply attempting to save face.
Either way, each of these clubs has suffered immensely in the wake of the ESL’s collapse. Monetarily, this came in the form of a 15 million Euro “donation,” with the money going to support grassroots soccer, and a “Club Commitment Declaration,” supported by UEFA. This declaration included the aforementioned “donation,” as well as an agreement to forgo 5% of the revenue the teams would have received from European competition in the 2021-22 season and to a 100 million Euro fine if they ever attempted to play in an “unauthorized competition” ever again.
However, where these teams truly suffered was with their fans. The amount of vitriol directed at these clubs, by their own supporters and supporters of other teams, in the wake of the ESL was truly shocking. Rarely does the Twitterverse entirely agree on one topic, but there was almost universal condemnation of the Super League. For the teams left out of the competition this opposition was obvious: those included would become richer at the expense of those excluded. Smaller clubs already reeling from the pandemic would falter and fail.
However, at first glance the opposition from supporters of clubs involved in the competition makes less sense. Each team would benefit financially, allowing them to sign the best players and improve the overall quality of the soccer on display. For these fans, the money did not matter. Instead it was about the history, the “cold, rainy nights in Stoke” as some fans like to say.
These fans don’t want to watch Arsenal vs. Barcelona or AC Milan vs. Real Madrid on a weekly basis, with a playoff structure similar to that of American sports. They want to watch the old rivalries and compete for the old trophies. To these fans the spirit and authenticity of their clubs matters far more than winning a meaningless competition. Because to them, that’s really what the Super League is. There are no stakes, no threat of relegation. A Super League team could lose every game of the pitch and suffer no consequences, while raking in millions off it. This is antithetical to everything soccer has stood for over the centuries it’s been played.
It now seems as though teams are finally recognizing the error of their ways, although it could just as easily be a PR campaign to make sure fans still buy jerseys and tickets next season. Chelsea, Arsenal, and Tottenham are currently in talks over a pre-season Charity Cup instead of the typical pre-season tours which take teams all over the world to play exhibition matches against different teams. All the money would be donated directly to charity, in the hopes of winning back fan support.
Only time will tell if this gesture proves effective. At the moment, each of these teams still has serious ground to cover before they achieve the level of fan support they had before this debacle. Even if/when things get fully back to normal, soccer fans won’t forget that these 12 clubs put money over their fanbases, something that will leave scars for years to come.
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