Chelsea was among the first clubs to withdraw their name, and the rest followed. Before Chelsea’s PL match against Burnley was about to take place, The Blues’ fans blocked the team’s bus in front of the Wembley stadium and protested against the Super League. Petr Cech himself engaged with the riled-up crowd, pleading to let the bus through.
😬 The moment Petr Cech showed up to try and sort things out with the Chelsea fans. pic.twitter.com/EWFxVXMMXQ
— SPORF (@Sporf) April 21, 2021
The fans’ boycott of their clubs was one of the key reasons for these clubs’ withdrawal. The English clubs made it official by releasing statements publicly.
“We made a mistake, and we apologize for it. As a result of listening to you and the wider football community over recent days, we are withdrawing from the proposed Super League.” Arsenal said in a letter to fans.
“Manchester City Football Club can confirm that it has formally enacted the procedures to withdraw from the group developing plans for a European Super League.” City posted on their website.
Liverpool also posted on their Twitter account, “Liverpool Football Club can confirm that our involvement in proposed plans to form a European Super League has been discontinued.”
Governments and politicians, including United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson, had also opposed the Super League and promised to do anything in their power to prevent it.
Although Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, AC Milan, and Juventus are still on board for the competition, they haven’t announced future plans regarding their involvement.
Juventus president Andrea Agnelli is very skeptical as he no longer believes in the existence of the competition, with the Premier League teams pulling out their names on Wednesday.Â
“I remain convinced of the beauty of that project. But admittedly … I mean, I don’t think that that project is now still up and running.” Agnelli told Reuters.
Reacting to this development in the upcoming disbandment of the Super League, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said, “I said yesterday that it is admirable to admit a mistake, and these clubs made a big mistake,” he said. “But they are back in the fold now, and I know they have a lot to offer not just to our competitions but to the whole of the European game.
“The important thing now is that we move on, rebuild the unity that the game enjoyed before this and move forward together.”
