Was it the UK that saved European football?

RedPed

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I'm not sure whether there was any fuss or media storms brewing in Spain and Italy in particular or perhaps from some of the other major players excluded but could this really have been a thing if it wasn't for the UK backlash going all the way up to the UK government who let's face it would only have come out on top.

Does anybody have any insight as to what (if anything) was happening in other countries? Were they even bothered/outraged?

I watched James Corden's impassionate monologue on his late night show and it was so cringeworthy...not so much for what he was saying because he was spot on. It was the blatant indifference of his US audience that really struck me and just hammered home how the Glazers, Kroenkes and FSG must really view European football and why they genuinely thought it probably wasn't such a big deal.

Imagine some random European billionaires taking over the NFL, adding promotion and relegation and scrapping the Superbowl and replacing it with something more European. The disrespect those guys have shown is unbelievable.

I'm just wondering if this monstrosity would have just sailed through if not for the vociferous British pushback or were other countries just as vocal?
 

sullydnl

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Heard Jonathan Wilson and Sid Lowe on the Second Captains podcast earlier note the UK media's very obvious instinct to sneer at foreigners and blame "foreign invaders" for football's ills, which perhaps primed them for this situation in which an US model was being foisted upon football by outsiders.

Meanwhile (as Lowe noted) a lot of Spain's press fell into line once it was clear their beloved Real Madrid were leading this project.
 

InfiniteBoredom

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Ze Germans and Le Frogs snickering somewhere.

The outrage has been universal, but it was the non-inclusion of Bayern and PSG that put a wrench on this heist from the start. This isn’t really the time to be tooting your John Bull’s horn.
 

Rightnr

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You might say that but the UK clubs were the big enablers through their owners to begin with, so while it's good they jumped ship early, they still were going to be part of it.

The German clubs are the ones which come out best out of this. PSG is not really representative of France in my opinion.
 

Swiss_Red89

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UK certainly played a big part! You truly showed why you are "Das Mutterland des Fussballs", as we say in the german speaking parts of Europe.

I'm proud to be a fan of english football.

Huge respect for the germans as well for not even joining the party of course.

I think in the end it's a win of the whole football community.
 
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RUCK4444

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Yes. Germany and France get honourable mentions but let’s face it the thing was going ahead without them.
 

Charles Miller

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I think UK showed a great character here, but it was more the yanks and russians who saved the day imo.
 

Cast5

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Absolutely, let this be a lesson to anyone who tries to take our game away from us, no matter who you are or where you’re from.
 

arthurka

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Well to begin with it was the big 6 in England who started it so.

But that aside the footballing world United in this with outrage it was not a Boris Johnson victory speech. But again Europe won. You Brexit loving......
 

Red Star One

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Sure, English teams constituted half of the founding members, one relevant European league and their clubs opposed the idea from the very beginning (Germany), following hysteria in the media English teams take a step back and now it's the English that are the heroes. Don't get me wrong because the public surely should get the credit for a successful outrage and remarkable unity, but even if it would be stupid to blame Premier League for all that's wrong with modern football, it was in England that the americanization trend has started.
 

RedPed

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Well to begin with it was the big 6 in England who started it so.

But that aside the footballing world United in this with outrage it was not a Boris Johnson victory speech. But again Europe won. You Brexit loving......
None of the Big 6 are owned by UK owners who pretty much acted under stealth so your implication is not entirely accurate but I get what you're saying. Every fan to a man/woman of these clubs vehemently opposed the ESL and not even the players and managers were consulted so no, it didn't start in England.
 

redshaw

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There didn't seem to be much going on at all in Spain or Italy regarding fans, media, or governments. In Spain you even have courts supporting this with fans and media of Barca Madrid relishing ESL, Pirlo was supporting this in Italy if reports are true. If UK sat back like that then Germany would probably end up in it once set up but UK has an extremely strong sporting culture and behind the creation of many of the world's sports and ethics and this comp antithetical to sport stirred a hornets nest here. Key was probably the government, Prince William and fans protesting the day before and scathing reports from other clubs. It's said Chelsea decided to back out before the Chelsea fans protest that evening so the backlash and government intervention was already enough for Roman. The big problem is how out of touch the owners are with sport in England and the United Kingdom.
 
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That's an insular, nationalist and English exceptionalist view.

The reason this didn't happen is Bayern and PSG. The commitment they showed undermined the breakaway clubs and gave UEFA a much better position to fight from.

The fan and pundit outrage has been the same everywhere.
 

arthurka

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None of the Big 6 are owned by UK owners who pretty much acted under stealth so your implication is not entirely accurate but I get what you're saying. Every fan to a man/woman of these clubs vehemently opposed the ESL and not even the players and managers were consulted so no, it didn't start in England.
So by that definition Germany didn't start the II world war.

But of course I am kidding here, the owners are American we all know that but the unity world over for this matter has been inspiring to say the least. Bayern coming out as the good guys here is remarkable really.

Let's not forget that the FA and the British lawmakers allowed this to happen and never stepped in when fans all around the world were crying out for help and warning there would be consequences. You guys created this monster so in a way you guys started this.
 

Hectic

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I think it was Perez and his mental interview of doom.
 

hobbers

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Yes 100%.

If this was left up to the Spanish and Italian fans of the other 6 clubs nothing would have happened at all to stop it. And included in that is their media and their governments. Literally nothing.

Juventus and Real fans were net in favour of the SL from the get go.
 

Foxbatt

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Well, everywhere except Corea del Norte where all their media seemed to be applauding Real's Dear Leader, the saviour of football.
yes the Spanish media, and more specifically the Madrid media and the fans were a lot more supportive of this Super League. I do not know much about the Italian media. Can anyone elaborate on the Italian media and the stance of the Italian fans on this?
 

WI_Red

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Sure, in the way an arsonist "saves" a house they set on fire by calling the fire department after it has half burnt down.
 

Sir Matt

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The German clubs rejecting it is what saved European football. If they had joined and the clubs had found a 15th team, there would've been greater momentum and security for staying in. Without any teams to take the last three spots, the ESL's bargaining position was weakened irreparably. It gave City and Chelsea the room to realize they'd been lied to by the ringleaders and to respond to government and supporter pressure. If all 15 had signed on at once, it would've taken action, rather than talk, by the British government to stop the Super League. It likely would've resulted in the British government intervening and killing it anyway, but I don't think it would have collapsed in 48 hours if Bayern and Dortmund had signed on.

PSG gets no credit because they didn't sign up since they own Champions League broadcast rights so their holding out was pure self-interest.
 

Redplane

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I think it was Perez and his mental interview of doom.
Yeah I tend to think that if he would have kept his mouth shut and not produced so many ridiculous quotes they may have flown under the radar a bit more - at least long enough to seriously give the existing leagues a real headache. People with big mouths are hardly ever helpful or effective in the long run.
 

sullydnl

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In many ways though the people who really saved European football were the conspirators themselves.

They took an idea that had been spoken about for decades and planned for years & set it back by a generation, gave up key roles they had within UEFA, removed a great deal of the leverage the most powerful clubs had, energised clubs' fanbases against terrible owners and brought the need for reform to such public consciousness that both the Prime Minister and the future King of England weighed in with their opinions. All within the space of 48 hours or so.
 

Foxbatt

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How are the Spanish and Italian fans and the media talking about this?
 

Giggs86

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They just committed a marketing suicide, don't think that anyone saved anything. It could have been a solid idea but the way they implemented it should be the end of all of their business careers. All of them should follow Woodward and resign. From conspiring behind closed doors without letting players/fans know to trying to sell it in the worst possible way. This was a docu-worthy epic fail.
 

UnofficialDevil

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I'm not anti Scottish, I just wanted Moyes out.
The German clubs rejecting it is what saved European football. If they had joined and the clubs had found a 15th team, there would've been greater momentum and security for staying in. Without any teams to take the last three spots, the ESL's bargaining position was weakened irreparably. It gave City and Chelsea the room to realize they'd been lied to by the ringleaders and to respond to government and supporter pressure. If all 15 had signed on at once, it would've taken action, rather than talk, by the British government to stop the Super League. It likely would've resulted in the British government intervening and killing it anyway, but I don't think it would have collapsed in 48 hours if Bayern and Dortmund had signed on.

PSG gets no credit because they didn't sign up since they own Champions League broadcast rights so their holding out was pure self-interest.
Bayern and Dortmunt couldn't enter because of their 50/1 ownerships.