film / tv / substack / social media / lists / web / celeb / pajiba love / misc / about / cbr
film / tv / substack / web / celeb

twitter-reacts-super-league-header.jpg

Twitter Reacts to the Formation of a New European Football 'Super League'

By Petr Navovy | Social Media | April 19, 2021 |

By Petr Navovy | Social Media | April 19, 2021 |

twitter-reacts-super-league-header.jpg

I haven’t been much of a football fan at all for a long time. As a kid, I used to be a huge Arsenal supporter and I followed the game religiously, but then I decided that it was all a massive capitalist con and I didn’t want any part in it (I was already annoying at twelve years old), so for the past twenty or so years my relationship with football has been minimal. I don’t follow the leagues, I don’t know the players, I don’t support anyone. I perk up a bit when the World Cup happens, but that’s mostly because of the ‘global festival’ party feeling that suddenly descends over everything and provides break from the monotony of the usual day-to-day. Aside from that though I’m mostly totally detached from football.

I say ‘mostly’ because I do follow a few football people on social media, and the politics of the game do interest me. As a traditionally working class game that still gets most of its talent from the classes that birthed it but which has been corrupted by the interests of big capital, it’s difficult not to be fascinated. So I couldn’t help but notice when news broke that six of the biggest English football clubs were apparently soon to join up with six teams from Spain and six teams from Italy in forming a ‘European Super League’. According to The Guardian:

After a dramatic day that earlier saw Boris Johnson and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, both condemn proposals that had been met with widespread criticism from around the continent, a statement just after 11pm UK time from the newly formed European Super League confirmed plans to begin the new competition in August.

The plans, which would represent one of the biggest changes ever made in the football calendar, threaten not only the future of the Champions League but could have a seismic impact on the entire structure of the club game. In England the Premier League had urged clubs “to walk away immediately before irreparable damage is done”.

“Twelve of Europe’s leading football clubs have today come together to announce they have agreed to establish a new mid-week competition, the Super League, governed by its founding clubs,” it read. “AC Milan, Arsenal FC, Atlético de Madrid, Chelsea FC, FC Barcelona, FC Internazionale Milano, Juventus FC, Liverpool FC, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid CF and Tottenham Hotspur have all joined as founding clubs. It is anticipated that a further three clubs will join ahead of the inaugural season, which is intended to commence as soon as practicable.”

The backlash on social media to the news was instant and widespread, with many English-speaking users taking aim at the naked greed of the massively wealthy owners of the six clubs here, and their efforts to form an anti-competitive, elitist splinter league that will drive the sport even further into capitalist misery than it already has been.