Posted on 13th May 2021
UEFA must implement minimum standards across its club competitions say campaigners after the results of a Europe-wide survey of away fans was published this week.
© Alamy
Posted on 13th May 2021
Yesterday, a delegation of fan representatives led by Football Supporters Europe met with UEFA and its president Aleksander Čeferin to discuss the fallout from the European Super League and the critical role that fans played in its demise.
The group included individuals from the Football Supporters’ Association and our affiliated representatives at Arsenal Supporters’ Trust, Chelsea Supporters’ Trust, Manchester City Official Supporters’ Club, Manchester United Supporters’ Trust, Spirit of Shankly, Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust, and Spanish fans’ groups.
UEFA were keen to hear from supporters at those specific clubs.
Fans in the meeting were clear that the events of the past few weeks must never be allowed to happen again – the future of the beautiful game cannot be controlled by a handful of billionaire club owners.
Our key arguments are that:
“We have made it absolutely crystal clear to UEFA and Aleksander Čeferin that allowing clubs to qualify for Europe based on anything other than sporting merit is completely unacceptable and fans oppose any expansion of the Champions League.
“Any format which allows clubs to compete based on prestige or historic performance is a capitulation to the same greedy owners who tried to form their breakaway European Super League. We won’t accept a bad option just because there was a worse one.
“Supporters across the continent want to see UEFA reward sporting merit, respect domestic competition, and share the wealth that football has, rather than allow the greediest owners to hoard it.
“As supporters we don’t pretend to have all the answers but we were encouraged by President Čeferin’s commitment to more engagement and consultation from UEFA before any final decision is reached. Fans must have their say in how football is run.”
UEFA must implement minimum standards across its club competitions say campaigners after the results of a Europe-wide survey of away fans was published this week.
On 17th November, Germany played Belgium in a UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifier. The game was hosted at the Schwarzwald-Stadion, home to Bundesliga side SC Freiburg.
Football Supporters Europe (FSE) are urging UEFA to reverse their decision to put a blanket ban on away fans at European competition this season – arguing instead for a case-by-case approach.
UEFA stunned West Ham United fans recently when they banned away fans from attending the next European away game with barely a week’s notice. Here Sue Watson from the West Ham United Independent Supporters’ Association (WHUISA) talks about the disappointment in East London…