Gravina: Juventus Could be Excluded from Serie A Over Super League

It was 23 days ago when 12 clubs from three nations announced the creation of the European Super League. Two days later, the ESL was already dead before it hit the ground. Fan outrage, but mainly big-money offers from UEFA to English clubs did enough to dissuade several members of their involvement. And when one team left, the others fell like dominos. That is, with the exception of Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Juventus. The trio remains in the ESL and is relying on the courts to overrule UEFA’s monopoly on the game and released a statement over the weekend.

(i) The founding clubs have suffered, and continue to suffer, unacceptable third-party pressures, threats, and offenses to abandon the project and therefore desist from their right and duty to provide solutions to the football ecosystem via concrete proposals and constructive dialogue. This is intolerable under the rule of law and Tribunals have already ruled in favour of the Super League proposal, ordering FIFA and UEFA to, either directly or through their affiliated bodies, refrain from taking any action which may hinder this initiative in any way while court proceedings are pending

But that may have its consequences, at least for Juventus. Italian Football Federation president Gabriele Gravina held back no punches when responding.

Gravina: When clubs accept to take part in the Italian league, they accept the principles of international bodies. It’s evident that if Juventus would not accept these principles they will be banned from the domestic league,

I am sorry, I saw some worried fans this morning, but everybody must respect the rule...Nine clubs decided to withdraw from the competition [the Super League], there are three still involved. However, I hope this dispute will end soon.

While it's unlikely the 36-time champions truly don’t lineup in the top flight next season (think of all the TV money they bring to the peninsula), this only brings the footballing world closer to a confrontation that won’t be forgotten anytime soon. The clearest solution is for Juve to exit the ESL while they still can, as UEFA is also threatening sanctions to Madrid, Barcelona, and the bianconeri. All twelve teams will face a 5% deduction from their European money next season. Inter is safely (more or less) with the rest of the crowd, but how this standoff ends will affect every European club and what direction the sport moves from here.