NEIL DONCASTER, the Scottish Professional Football League chief executive, fears the Champions League risks becoming a ‘closed shop’ as it emerged yesterday Europe’s domestic league body has launched a revolt against UEFA.
The continent’s football governing organisation have angered the European Professional Football League who have hit out at the move to change the format of the premier club competitions, namely to guarantee the top-four ranking countries four places into the Champions League from 2018, in a bid believed to stave off the threat of a breakaway European super league.
With England, Spain, Germany and Italy in line to benefit, it means there will be even less places up for grabs for other teams to make it into the illustrious and cash-rich group stages.
It is a sentiment of discontent echoed by Doncaster, who was in Amsterdam for the EPFL meeting that was held yesterday. Even though assurances were given that the Champions route – the pathway that Celtic navigated their way through to qualify for this year’s tournament – will be preserved, the head of the SPFL stood side by side with his European counterparts in their quest for a reversal.
“Notwithstanding the welcome retention of a route to the Champions League for the SPFL’s Ladbrokes Premiership winners, we absolutely share the EPFL’s disappointment about the regressive and protectionist direction of travel for the world’s most prestigious club competition,” he said.
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“There needs to be a far stronger balance between sporting merit and commercial pressures, otherwise we risk an inexorable slide towards an NFL-style closed-shop system. We know that many of our counterparts in other countries share our concerns about the nature of the decision-making process and the lack of consultation with European leagues.
“UEFA has a duty to act on behalf of the entire game, not just a few, select clubs and leagues and it must take that duty far more seriously if it is not to risk presiding over a harmful fragmentation of the game.
“As we said recently, we will continue to be robust and forthright when required in fighting to protect the best interests of Scottish football on this issue, with today a strong demonstration that the majority of other European leagues share our view.”
The war of words started yesterday when the EPFL board of directors released a statement expressing their disappointment and anger at Uefa’s move that they believe was made without consultation or support of the EPFL’s members. On top of that, they claim that the European football governing body has breached the ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ between the two groups, prompting the league body to threaten to schedule fixtures on the same night’s as European club fixtures, something that they are not currently allowed to do.
Speaking last night in Amsterdam, Lars-Christer Olsson, the president of the EPFL, said: "UEFA has gone to bed with a limited number of clubs without taking into account the wishes and needs of everyone else I think UEFA was afraid for no real reason.
"We are asking UEFA to revoke the current decision and start the process all over again, I think it is a possible solution."
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