Juventus withdraws from the European Super League initiative
Juventus Confirms Decision to Leave European Super League Initiative
Juventus, the Italian football team, has announced that it is initiating the process to leave the European Super League project. In a statement, the club revealed that negotiations were held with Spanish teams Real Madrid and Barcelona regarding the project, but differences in the interpretation of the contracts arose. Juventus confirmed that it is now seeking to exit the initiative.
According to the agreement between the clubs involved in the European Super League, Juventus must obtain approval from Real Madrid and Barcelona, as well as the clubs that were previously part of the project, in order to proceed with the exit process. Italian newspapers, La Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere dello Sport, reported the news with headlines such as “Goodbye Super League” and “Juventus is leaving the Super League. Official statement has come,” respectively.
It is worth noting that Andrea Agnelli, the former president of Juventus, was one of the leading supporters of the European Super League initiative. However, he, along with his board, resigned on November 28, 2022, after being implicated in a financial corruption investigation. Agnelli has been banned from football for 24 months due to his involvement in various irregularities, including unfair capital gains and financial fraud.
Furthermore, Juventus faced penalties and a deduction of 10 points last season as a result of ongoing investigations. In an attempt to mitigate further penalties from UEFA’s own investigation into financial corruption, there are reports suggesting that Juventus may consider withdrawing entirely from the UEFA Europa Conference League, which it was eligible to participate in this year.
The European Super League initiative caused significant backlash within the sports community. Initially, 12 clubs, including Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham from England, Milan, Inter and Juventus from Italy, and Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, and Real Madrid from Spain, announced their participation in the project. However, after backlash from FIFA, UEFA, and the sports public, nine clubs withdrew, leaving only Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Juventus. UEFA and FIFA warned that these three teams could face sanctions, including removal from their affiliated organizations and national leagues, as well as a ban on sending players to international matches. The matter has now been brought to the European Court of Justice.
