Ceferin calls for a decisive step before the sentence of the EU Court, as well as a cut with the leadership of the past
Peace is possible, but a decisive change of course is needed on the Superlega issue and before the sentence of the EU Court. Nothing is definitively compromised between UEFA and Juventus and the sudden change of management at Juventus was a first step towards reconciliation, but it cannot be enough. In short, in Nyon they are ready to extend their hand to the black and white club now that Andrea Agnelli is gone but they are expecting something that hasn’t happened yet, or rather the exit from the Superlega scene.
Let’s take a step back: Juve-Uefa relations reached rock bottom in April 2021, when the birth of the Superlega and a new tournament was proclaimed. In Nyon no one contemplates revenge, also because everyone is aware of the importance of a club like Juventus and going to war with them regardless would be a sensational own goal, not only from a media point of view. However, the open questions must be resolved and Juventus can only choose to recover from what they consider the right side at UEFA. In fact, Juventus, along with Barcelona and Real Madrid, are among the clubs considered “rebels” by the highest European body and it is no mystery that president Ceferin experienced it as a betrayal (even personal, being the godfather of one of Agnelli’s daughters ) the move of the former Juventus president. Therefore in Nyon the elimination of the old management and the installation of the new top management were welcomed, who immediately sought the path of dialogue with UEFA, finding open doors and maximum availability. In particular Francesco Calvo and Maurizio Scanavino have taken the first steps to mend with UEFA, but the definitive one is still missing.
In fact, at the moment we are in a stalemate: there hasn’t been any meeting, not even informal, but above all there hasn’t been the about-face that UEFA expected. In this sense, Agnelli’s interviews with the Telegraf (in which he relaunched the Superlega) and Reichart, managing director of A22 Sports – the company promoting the creation of the Superlega – with Stampa (the family newspaper) aroused astonishment and created embarrassment (for say no more in a delicate moment.This is why the month of April can be decisive in this sense as well.
Word to the Court
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EU Between April and May the pronouncement of the European Court of Justice should arrive, which was expected in March. The Court is called to establish whether UEFA and FIFA are operating in a monopoly regime, abusing their positions and violating articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. If, as expected, the Court says that the “European model” must be confirmed, it will be the tombstone of the Super League. For now, the EU Advocate General has given a totally favorable opinion to UEFA and FIFA. In 80% of cases the Court confirms the opinion and in this case the governments, the Commission and the Parliament are also against the Superlega. UEFA and Fifa could already issue sanctions against the three “rebels” but they decided to wait for the end of the procedure and all the European judges will have to comply with this sentence.
Logical that an exit from the scene by Juventus only after the pronouncement of the European Court of Justice would not have the same value for UEFA. In Nyon they would like the club to leave earlier and now time is running out. In a nutshell, in Nyon they think that to mend and rebuild it is necessary to close definitively with the past, which means a clean break even with what still remains in the company from the old management and a change also at the communicative level, with an abandonment of the themes dear to the Superlega . Other roads are not passable. Then we must not forget that UEFA has already requested and obtained all the old and new documentation linked to the Prisma investigation directly from the Turin prosecutor’s office. On the table are the two issues of financial fair play and “unsportsmanlike conduct”, reasons why Juventus risks being left out of the cups.
April 1, 2023 (change April 1, 2023 | 10:12 am)
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