European Super League 'enormously damaging', says SPFL

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The Scottish Professional Football League has added its voice to the opposition to a proposed European Super League (ESL).

Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham are among 12 clubs who have agreed to establish a "new midweek competition".

Uefa said it will use "all measures" possible to stop the "cynical project".

And SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster thinks the idea is a "clear and present danger to the sport we all love".

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He added: "The SPFL stands alongside Uefa, the European leagues, the English Premier League and the overwhelming majority of the game's stakeholders in vehemently opposing the proposed ESL.

"These proposals, or any like them, would have an enormously damaging impact on the very fabric of our sport at all levels. It is no surprise they have been so swiftly and overwhelmingly condemned by fans the world over.

"We believe that any such 'competition' would dramatically undermine the global appeal of football and would be financially catastrophic for all but a very tiny minority.

"The proposals we have seen, assembled by a small, self-selected group of very wealthy clubs, appear to be a cynical and very worrying attempt to thwart the core principle of sporting merit which rightly underpins European football. They represent a clear and present danger to the sport we all love.

"Now, more than ever, given what we have all been through over the past year, governments, together with the game's governing bodies and leagues, need to work together to do what is right and protect the very essence of the game."

The Scottish FA echoed the sentiments of their SPFL counterparts, saying the proposals have "galvanised sport" against it.

A statement added: "The Scottish FA believes in the fundamental principles of the football pyramid and meritocratic competition. We are concerned by the impact this cynical attempt will have on the game domestically and internationally, for players and fans, for clubs and countries.

"We stand together with Uefa and with all who wish to uphold the values and very fabric of football."

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