Original subtitles

-Top news... -Monday, April 19.

Yesterday evening

Under the cover of darkness the Super League was officially launched.

Twelve of the largest clubs

-announced the spin-off league. -Twelve clubs,

six from the Premier League, to form a breakaway Super League.

Arsenal, Tottenham,

Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United

join Barcelona, Inter Milan, Atlético de Madrid,

Real Madrid, AC Milan and Juventus.

A huge upheaval in soccer.

Super clubs with these super players...

Ronaldo, Mohamed Salah, Kevin De Bruyne.

Supported by a three and a half billion euro loan

from the US investment bank J.P. Morgan...

Billions from J.P. Morgan...

These teams receive

more than four times as much money as the winners of the Champions League.

There will be a worldwide war for television rights.

The Super League: A profit-maximizing blockbuster event.

Like vampires, they came in the middle of the night with the press release.

That was the first time that I saw which clubs were joining.

I was naturally disappointed.

And I knew nothing about the bank. I knew nothing about the money.

What stood out above all was the clear naming of

from J.P. Morgan as the sponsor of the operation.

They were ready, to invest billions of pounds.

They said twelve clubs had signed.

That's never happened before.

They betrayed their own people. All of them.

People you had worked with and trusted.

There seems to be a clear and present betrayal shines through.

I knew this feeling of insecurity

from my work in soccer.

I couldn't believe that this was happening.

I said, no, this is a nightmare.

It was like a knife in my body.

The knife I felt, was the same that everyone felt.

We clearly have a battle ahead of us.

You can't satisfy everyone.

We are not all the same.

What drives soccer, are the big teams.

Young viewers want big games

and drama.

Unpredictable games, where anything can happen.

Something that picks up on why this game

is the best show in the world.

The Super League press release

was a direct confrontation.

I know about martial arts:

The more complicated the situation, the more I concentrate.

Because for me

that was a declaration of war.

1 BILLION DOLLARS IN REVENUE

RECORD TRANSFER

SUPER LEAGUE: THE GAME OFF THE FIELD

DAY THREE APRIL 19, 2021

SPAIN

10 AM

We will see.

Do you do something that is so complicated and difficult,

flies around at the last minute there's always a lot of paper flying around.

SUPER LEAGUE FINANCIER

The work this weekend was extremely hard.

The announcement at midnight was probably the earliest possible time.

The signing of the agreement by all teams

was simply an explosion of happiness.

FINAL MILAN 2016

Twelve clubs joined forces,

to fight the system that had not been had not been shaken since 1955.

At the beginning, it was unclear how many people would actually sit at the table.

Three? Seven? Ten?

We never thought that we would be twelve.

And the big six in England...

Yes, getting six, would be very difficult.

Everyone knew it would be controversial.

They knew there would be difficult discussions with their fans.

But they thought it was important for the further development of the sport.

ITALY

Good morning.

It was announced on that famous April 19, 2021.

It was an interesting few days.

CHAIRMAN

I would say.

It was not unexpected.

But there was still a lot to do.

After the explosion of happiness

we said: "Okay, we'd better get back to work."

Because everyone knew that Monday would be a difficult day.

THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION

SWITZERLAND

Hello, hello.

We met on Monday

and were all very nervous.

These twelve clubs generate a lot of money...

UEFA PRESIDENT

...and have great influence.

Then came the press conference.

We only knew there were 400 journalists waiting.

I didn't know in advance what I would be talking about.

The important thing for me was that we got the ball rolling.

We wanted the European population to population to jump ship.

The fans, the governments, the whole of society.

Let's tell everyone what's going on.

I went in, without anyone asking me beforehand:

"What are the questions? What are the possible answers?

What can I say?"

I was completely isolated in my shell.

For Aleksander Čeferin, the introduction of the Super League is a failure.

He was surprised and undermined.

At that moment his power and authority threatened to dry up.

He is fighting for his life. The Super League is introduced,

he would be removed as of European soccer,

after he had, to a certain extent collapse for which he was responsible.

There would be no turning back from that.

As a lawyer, I made many bad decisions.

I asked my father, who had always been my mentor:

"When will I stop taking cases stop taking cases so personally?"

He said, "If that happens, you are no longer good."

Soccer is emotion.

Soccer is passion.

This is not a business.

We came in, we sat down.

Before that, I tried to hide my feelings as much as possible.

But at the press conference

I had to be sincere and not be tactical.

It is important to show that you are human,

to admit that you are hurt.

When you open up, you are yourself. I was at the press conference.

I must acknowledge the extraordinary situation on the eve of this announcement

and address them during the night.

I can't say it any clearer at this point say it any clearer:

UEFA and the soccer world stand united

against the shameful, selfish proposal,

we have seen in the last 24 hours.

He came from a few clubs in Europe,

who are driven primarily by greed.

This idea is a slap in the face of all soccer fans

and our society.

We will not allow this,

that they take soccer away from us.

This is about greed, selfishness and narcissism.

As a criminal defense lawyer, I have read out some negative things.

Sometimes I may seem a bit too arrogant and aggressive,

but the moment you are honest, people realize that.

Because there is not a lot of honesty in sport or politics.

I am angry. I... am angry.

We have negotiated with 247 clubs. We negotiated with the leagues.

We were supported by the national associations.

Then we heard rumors about meetings in dark rooms.

They speak in their press release about solidarity...

They know absolutely nothing about solidarity.

The seriousness of what is happening

required these words.

LALIGA PRESIDENT

Clear, clearly communicated words.

If you are walking on a tightrope, you must not be careless.

You can't do things by halves.

The sports world is horrified.

We are hypnotized by men, who normally lurk in the shadows

and discreetly do business behind a cloud of smoke from expensive cigars.

They swapped their suits for brass knuckles...

SOCCER COMMENTATOR

...and beat each other up each other with cues.

It was like a live telenovela in front of the world.

Andrea Agnelli... Never have I seen a person who so often

and lied as persistently as he did.

We didn't know that there were some snakes among us.

But now we know and are working on it.

We will also take legal action.

Come out in the middle of the night,

it is difficult, to have a solution in the morning.

But I am of the opinion that as soon as possible

banned from all our competitions must be banned from all our competitions, as must the players.

Participants in a closed league

are excluded from the World Cup and European Cup.

The most important institution of European soccer

declares war on the biggest clubs.

That's crazy!

In all the years of my reporting

I have never experienced anything like this press conference by the UEFA President.

He is loaded. He is angry.

...liars and snakes, who are involved.

UEFA threatened all clubs,

that join the new Super League, from other competitions.

Presumably there are laws here.

Can UEFA stop this Super League? Can it exclude these clubs?

My colleagues said, "What the hell?"

Some people asked me who had advised me.

I said, if someone would advise me,

he would forbid me to talk like that.

The biting way Čeferin speaks

towards Agnelli, the betrayal he addresses is so personal,

that it tore your heart out.

He wanted to animate the soccer public,

By saying: "Guys, you need to be angry too,

I'm not going to do this alone." And it worked.

Soccer fans, all of us, come together and stop this. It can be stopped.

Marches on stadiums...

EHEM. PLAYER

...fans coming together. Don't let that happen.

EHEM. PLAYER

Mobilization and organization.

Čeferin spoke of snakes and liars.

What he did at that moment signaled to the fans: "Stand up and attack."

Čeferin positioned himself as a populist and said: "Fans, you are the infantry.

Turn against your kings."

It was an outburst of anger. But you need a strong base.

Together we had to bombard the media together.

THE DEATH OF ARSENAL

HEAD OF ARSENAL FAN ORGANIZATION

That is unacceptable. Without us.

We are democratic,

have over half a million members. We argue and represent...

HEAD OF BRIT. FAN ORGANIZATION

...the interests of fans...

BY FANS, FOR FANS

...day in, day out.

The first thing I did was inform the fans. The message I conveyed...

This is not a drill. This is a call to arms.

We were immediately in campaign mode to contest it.

STATEMENT FROM ARSENAL

We contacted the Premier League

and tried to start a dialog with Arsenal to start a dialog.

No matter whether you're an Arsenal, Chelsea or Manchester United fan.

We had to make this noise.

We are against the Super League. That's how we fight against them.

We spoke with fans in Italy and Spain...

MANAGER EUROP. FAN ORGANIZATION

...to synchronize the message as synchronized as possible.

We managed a crisis.

"SERIOUS THREAT TO THE GAME"

We publicly asked Agnelli to stop this crazy project.

Javier and Aleksander Čeferin spoke to each other.

THE "GURUS" OF THE SUPER LEAGUE LEAVE THE BAR...

I wrote to all the important journalists in Europe.

LALIGA HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS

I saw a tweet against the Super League,

I sent it to all those who had seen it in battle.

for the favor of the soccer fans.

It's not about the clubs, but their owners.

This... little mafia.

TOWER

We must remain steadfast.

Soccer is for the fans. It has to stay that way.

The Super League needs the English clubs.

We did what we could, so that they would turn away.

And on Monday morning things really got rolling.

We fed a monster.

A store for bigwigs.

EHEM. PLAYER

TV MODERATOR

-Football belongs to the working class. -Globalization.

ACTORS

TV CRITIC

Just greed, greed, greed.

Prince William is against the Super League.

Heads must roll. Deeds should be punished.

It is a nuclear war.

If I had been asked: "How do you get the royal family, the government,

Soccer fans and James Corden together?", I would have been at a loss. Just what?

But bravo, the Super League.

TRAINER

It is not a sport, if success is guaranteed.

It's not a sport, if it doesn't matter whether you lose.

Soccer makes us fans believe that anything is possible in life.

By destroying this idea, the Super League destroys this idea,

they basically tell millions of fans: "Actually, nothing in life is possible."

It is criminal. A criminal act against soccer fans in this country.

Gary was very helpful on Sunday.

His television program is watched by a of the soccer community,

and he immediately spoke out against it.

I am disgusted, absolutely disgusted.

They are scavengers and belong from this club

and thrown out of this country.

Punishes them with point deductions and fines.

They are not loyal to the country nor to the leagues.

Enough is enough.

The billionaires behind the Super League

certainly expected some dissatisfied fans,

but not with a revolution, an uprising, a war.

With the entire soccer community,

so hundreds of millions in Europe against you.

THE TURNING POINT

Then came the Leeds game.

That was a real turning point. The clubs and the fans

protested against the project.

To the ESL: Fuck off!

To the ESL: Fuck off!

These owners do it all for themselves.

"Let's make billions. The others don't matter."

Soccer was intended for the working class.

It is no longer like that.

To all fans: write on Twitter and on Instagram: "We are against it."

-Away with the Super League. -We many

show you few that you are nothing without fans, you wankers.

You are already billionaires.

GREED OUT OF FOOTBALL

Why do you need more?

NO TO THE SUPER LEAGUE R.I.P. SOCCER

1 MRD. POUNDS LOOTED

NO TO SUPER GREED NO 'SUPER' LEAGUE

DAMN YOU SUPER LEAGUE

We pay your wages.

They warned the owners of the Super League,

they would lose their most loyal fans.

You said at that moment:

"Join the Super League, but we're not going with you."

COUNTER-REACTION TO SPIN-OFF

A tiny approach, where we thought: "Wait a minute.

The Super League could fail."

Today is a live game:

Leeds United play against Liverpool.

The Leeds players also protested.

Warm-up jerseys with "Earn it".

-Fourteen teams wear them. -We live in democracies.

With the right to freedom of expression, freedom of assembly.

Never underestimate the power of the collective.

Kroenke out. We want Kroenke out.

Says: "We want Kroenke out!"

We want Kroenke out!

We want Kroenke out!

Get out of our club!

Get out of our club!

Fuck Stan Kroenke!

Get out of our club!

WE LAUGH ABOUT MIKEL

Fuck the Super League!

SOCCER IS OURS, NOT YOURS

SUPER GREED

The Glazers out!

We want the Glazers out!

The Glazers out!

Old, greedy bastard! He's an old, greedy bastard!

Old, greedy bastard!

NO

I knew we could create a certain amount of turmoil,

but not that the matter would take on such proportions.

It was a revolution. The stadiums were on fire.

We will continue, until we get our club back.

That's what it means to us. That's what soccer means to the fans.

When citizens take to the streets, governments have to intervene.

This is how we involved the governments,

especially those of Great Britain.

Presumably the government had to

intervene at this stage, to stop this.

We had to direct the majority of our activities to the politicians.

We believe in free markets, companies and a government,

that is committed to infrastructure and great and great public services,

precisely because we believe in free markets and entrepreneurship.

Most people would not have thought that Boris Johnson and his party

in the commercial competition would interfere in commercial competition.

That is not the government's job. Business is business.

4:45 PM

The reaction of the British government exerted great pressure on the clubs.

They knew they would get into trouble if they didn't stop the project.

In the first 48 hours

I had an intensive exchange with UEFA President Čeferin.

BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY

Fortunately, no one recorded the phone call.

Expletives flew, and emotions ran high.

There was a lot of pain and a lot of anger in the air, and we were very honest.

This was still assumed on Monday,

the Super League would continue.

After all, it was supported by the most important associations.

Major investment banks had invested invested 3.5 billion dollars in the project.

The fans who protested against their clubs had such an effect,

that people said to me: "I've been an Arsenal fan all my life.

I... have experienced all the good and bad times.

I am just turning against my club for the first time."

I decided to make a statement before Parliament.

I call on Secretary of State Oliver Dowden.

There is the Whitehall saying:

"Very brave, Minister." Means as much as: "Are you sure you want to do this?"

It was like David against Goliath.

No one should see that the emperor has no clothes on.

Soccer is part of our national DNA.

We invented it and exported it all over the world.

It has been at the center of at the center of British life.

I was horrified by the announcement of last night's event.

A few owners want a closed store

from elite clubs at the top of the game.

A league based on wealth and brand awareness

rather than on merit.

There is a struggle in the British Parliament.

Attacks and heckling are expected. Often from within our own ranks.

What struck me in particular was that I applauded

from the opposing ranks.

We are the government of the people.

We will not stand by and watch soccer in a cowardly way

that is taken, what millions across the country love.

It starts with the fans, and it ends with the fans.

Thank you, Mr. Minister...

We said, we were against it in principle,

but the big step was then:

Do you actively use the power of the state to prevent this from happening?

And that required intensive discussions between me and the Prime Minister.

A GAME OF NARRATIVE

It was an emotional rollercoaster ride.

It became very popular, to be against the Super League.

In the UK, the government really attacked the concept very quickly.

This is a private initiative.

Sport is not regulated in Europe.

You would expect governments to let sport sort itself out.

But hey, many are excited, and we can score political points.

It was very tense.

There were many lies and a lot of frustration on our side.

SUPER LEAGUE SECRETARY GENERAL

The clubs knew that UEFA would not behave peacefully.

But we did not expect with such aggressive behavior.

They defamed her in public and insulted them in front of others.

The Super League is all about money.

The money of the dozen. I don't want to say "dirty dozen",

but some people do not know solidarity.

There is no unity for them either, but only their pockets.

The story, that was told was not true.

This is what UEFA and the company came up with the day before.

It went viral on social media.

Twitter accounts posted against the Super League.

There was a real organization, that wanted to prevent our proposal.

People just read the headline, that said,

twelve clubs wanted to destroy soccer.

But nobody really read really read our press release.

To put it bluntly: we never wanted to never want to split off from the system.

We never wanted to seal off this league. We never wanted to privatize everything.

THE SUPER LEAGUE

Fifteen clubs would have were given a permanent place for 23 years.

But five places remained each year, for which others were able to qualify.

Five teams are promoted every year, and five are relegated.

The familiar dream of smaller clubs,

which thus the big competition remained.

Leicester City has the most fantastic soccer fairytale

in English soccer history.

That changes the dream, of course, because only five qualifiers every year.

That is true. But the league is not closed. It was a hybrid.

That's not true. We don't want a bigger slice of the cake.

REAL MADRID PRESIDENT

The cake should be bigger.

We generate a lot of resources for everyone, not just for us.

HIGHER ECONOMIC GROWTH

Eight percent of the income went to Verbund,

so at least 400 million euros per year.

Three and a half times as much than the current Champions League.

The grassroots should get money, so that everyone has free access to soccer.

UEFA fanned these flames. It would be a closed system.

Because it was a major threat for their four-billion-euro competition.

It was against tradition and will destroy soccer.

The same was said when the Premier League was founded.

The soccer association approved the controversial plans

for a new Super League.

A separate first league of elite clubs,

which brings them more profits from sponsorship and television.

That was the most controversial move in English soccer.

And it was a renegade league.

We wanted change. The structure...

PREMIER LEAGUE FOUNDER

...of the league was dysfunctional.

And that was very controversial at the time.

It was said that we were interfering with history and tradition.

The end of English soccer.

A spin-off of the Football League.

They awarded their media rights themselves.

They were given their own administration,

independent of the Football League.

If we fast-forward through history, the Premier League is now a national treasure.

Cavani! Unbelievable! In the last minute of stoppage time.

That's why we love the Premier League!

As an innovator or pioneer you have to expect harsh words.

We knew it would be met with criticism.

But this type of reaction cannot be sustained for long.

You have to do it smoothly and quickly.

Participants in a closed league are excluded excluded from the World Cup and European Cup.

...at national or international level,

and the players will probably no longer be allowed for their national teams.

In the last few days about twenty times with Agnelli.

The extent of the immorality of some... of some people is truly unbelievable.

We want to improve the system in which we work.

COMPANY ANALYSIS

I'm not one to say: "We're doomed."

You have to find solutions. We have to look for alternative ways.

We knew it would be tough.

But with these twelve big clubs in one line-up, you kind of think,

There should be a way,

the expected overcome the expected difficulties.

It depends on the narrative style.

This must be made public.

So Florentino spoke on Monday at El Chiringuito

and managed to explain our plan.

Florentino Pérez, Super League President.

How did you into this chaos?

Nobody has made a mess.

The most important clubs from England, Italy and Spain

have to find a solution for a very bad situation in soccer.

Is it really the best thing for soccer or for a few, the most powerful?

-No, not at all. -The competition would only be for her.

No. It would generate more money for everyone.

Soccer has to evolve, just like life.

Just like companies, just like us.

Like people, our behavior, mentalities and the entertainment industry.

Soccer must change and adapt to today's world.

We want to defend soccer.

And we want to defend the fans, the true owners of soccer.

What the fans want, determines what we have to do.

Seventy-two percent of fans in Italy are in favor of the Super League.

In France, 71% are in favor.

And in Spain, 76% are in favor.

There is a silent majority. We conducted two surveys.

The younger they were, the more they supported our proposal.

The fans in countries like Spain and Italy were more united in their support.

They feel the frustration that fans of the English Premier League do not feel.

The frustration, of losing soccer in their country.

Yes, a minority took to the streets.

I am convinced that if they had heard the true story about our proposal,

they wouldn't have been so aggressive against us.

UEFA spread untruths.

That it would be a closed league, that it would be the end of national leagues,

that we would only want money.

Real Madrid belongs to the members, as does Barcelona.

Juventus is a centuries-old club.

The Agnelli family has to the joy of soccer for 100 years.

We are not the ones who have anything other than the good of soccer.

Is UEFA even allowed to take legal action?

We have only published a press release.

They threaten participating players.

Some people think that these institutions belong to them.

They do not.

UEFA is not characterized by is not characterized by a clean slate.

But this is a common mistake among managers of monopolies.

-UEFA is a monopoly? -Clear.

THE CRITICISM OF UEFA

EHEM. UEFA COMPLIANCE MANAGER

The twelve Super League clubs have valid arguments.

The game on the pitch is fair and transparent.

But off the pitch the clubs are getting angrier and angrier,

because they believe UEFA applies the rules selectively,

to favor certain interests.

UEFA has something called "Financial Fair Play".

Cost control mechanisms for clubs.

That basically means: "Spend only what you have."

The rules of financial fair play,

the clubs have to show UEFA what they generate

and where the money comes from to contain the massive the owners' massive additional expenditure,

who buy their way to the top.

The panel found...

EHEM. FIFA GUIDANCE

...in cases like Manchester City and PSG,

that the club owners through the sponsorship of of companies controlled by them

indirect, artificial ways would have been found,

to pump more money into the club,

than were generated by revenue.

This is called financial doping.

And this threatened the exclusion from the Champions League.

The ultimate sanction.

You look at the clubs where that was the case.

PSG, Manchester City, two clubs from the Middle East,

and AC Milan.

These are major cases where the clubs have largely got away with it.

UEFA PRESIDENT

When Aleksander Čeferin became UEFA President,

he made clear, clubs were in breach of the regulation,

they would have problems.

However, when it comes to enforcing of these rules, nothing happens.

DEADLINE NOT MET

UEFA missed its own own deadline, and PSG remains unpunished.

The result of PSG's investigation was:

"It may seem suspicious, but it's all right.

There are no sanctions."

PSG'S APPEAL IS ADMISSIBLE

We have adhered to the rules of to the rules of financial fair play.

PSG FREED FROM SPORTING FREED FROM RESTRICTIONS

Man City also got off lightly.

Will the incident...

CHAIRMAN

...judged on the basis of facts, we will undoubtedly be proved right.

SPORTS ARBITRATION COURT DECIDES:

PANEL SAYS UEFA'S MAIN ALLEGATIONS

WOULD HAVE TO BE REJECTED

We defend our position professionally.

I don't think it's good that we only talk about Manchester City.

We penalized five to ten clubs per season.

This is a normal procedure.

UEFA wants to create the best product,

so UEFA, by its very nature not particularly interested in it,

one of the most successful clubs from their biggest stage.

I keep myself out of the disciplinary work.

The organs are the ones who decide,

without any influence of the political leadership of UEFA.

And I deliberately nothing about the case.

Another example of conflicts of interest

is the role that the chairman of Paris Saint-Germain

in various areas of soccer.

Nasser Al-Khelaifi stands between two worlds.

He is the figurehead of the nouveau riche club club that buys the best players.

On the other hand, he is the boss of the television station beIN Sport...

...who buys television rights from UEFA worth billions of euros.

And then Mr. Al-Khelaifi also took on another role in 2019.

He became part of the Executive Committee of UEFA, its executive committee.

Now for the ratification of the members of the UEFA Executive Committee.

Mr. Nasser Al-Khelaifi, Paris Saint-Germain, France.

As a member of the UEFA Executive Committee

you are involved in everything important.

What happens, influences the future of the game.

If the person with whom you do business with is on your own board,

she has a lot of power and influence.

The crowning glory of Al-Khelaifi's position as the man of the company

then took place as a result of the Super League.

I present to you ECA Chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi.

Many people talk about all their roles and possible conflicts.

How do you deal with this?

I was asked to become chairman. I didn't ask for it. I was asked for it.

It is once again an honor to serve and help.

In each of my roles, I try to to help as much as possible.

I am proud to be part of the family.

My lawyers check everything, I do and can't do.

I will not take part in any conflict. But if there is a crisis...

"Please help us."

PSG PRESIDENT

You see, all is well, oh, there could be there could be a conflict. That's unfair.

For me, it is sometimes really difficult to accept.

Because I'm trying to help.

This is nothing personal.

The system allows this to happen.

A transnational activity,

which is subject to no or very regulation.

And it is about multi-billion dollar interests.

This enables an enormous concentration of power at the top.

Soccer is ruled ruled by a political cartel.

Who makes sure that everything UEFA does is compliant?

UEFA itself. They have internal, supposedly independent committees,

who control everything UEFA does.

But all in the same organization.

UEFA is not controlled by any government

and is not accountable to anyone about its activities.

They are above all countries, all governments.

UEFA earns billions of dollars, but at the same time is

the judiciary and the regulator.

All these powers are centralized in one place

and are subordinate to a man.

You really have to be careful, to understand Aleksander Čeferin

not as heroes or as a white knight.

He has compromised on the Champions League compromises.

He understood the nature of power

and how it its impact within European soccer.

UEFA is the 100% organizer of all of all pan-European competitions

and the gatekeeper who decides who becomes part of the market.

If they don't like what I say, I'm out of the system out of the system overnight.

People agree with you,

but do not dare to say this in front of cameras or recorded.

They would rather not continue against the interests of UEFA

or its president.

The statement that UEFA is in a conflict of interest,

because we sanction the clubs and manage the competitions,

is complete nonsense in my eyes. And we have proven that many times.

The rules are the same for everyone.

The system is good. Not since I've been here

or because I'm here. The system is simply good.

We just wanted to protect ourselves, to be able to work in peace,

and without these constant threats from UEFA and FIFA.

UEFA is the European governing body,

FIFA is the global governing body of sport.

It is the epitome of governance.

It is the "company" of soccer,

where the FIFA President is the President of the most popular sport in the world.

Whether friend or foe,

do not betray us, because we will have no mercy.

THE IMPERATOR

FIFA PRESIDENT

Gianni Infantino travels around and at the highest tables in the world.

For me, hiding was never an option for me. I act.

He likes to surround himself with celebrities,

Wealth and powerful leaders.

That is soccer.

People vie for supremacy, whether on the field or off it.

FIFA has changed.

This is a new FIFA.

He is a man who wants to leave a legacy.

And Infantino has that level of ambition

to aspire to this role.

I am the FIFA President.

I don't have a a strained relationship.

At the end of 2020, the first reports about a Super League project emerged.

EHEM. BARCELONA PRESIDENT

The Board of Directors will determine the conditions of participation

in a future European Super League of soccer clubs.

So say Čeferin and Infantino:

"Let's make a statement and say that's not going to happen."

Infantino told me that he did not disagreed with the Super League.

No organization respects this renegade league. organization, including FIFA.

It is therefore only logical to stand together against this renegade league.

In January we signed a declaration with Infantino,

that players from the renegade competition

neither in our competition be allowed to participate

still at the World Cup.

JANUARY 2021

FIFA has just published a statement just now,

which all six confederations signed

and which states that players of the non-sanctioned Super League

from international soccer and from World Cups.

National championships were denied them.

Players banned from playing

for their national teams, was a great disappointment.

This motivated the clubs even more, to say: "Enough is enough.

This must stop. The monopoly must be stopped."

THE COURT OF LEGAL OPINION

JANUARY 2021

APRIL 19, 2021

We knew they could use the threats

from January.

So we took advantage of the protection of the European courts,

to stop them from from threatening us. That is illegal.

UEFA wanted to ban us to ban us from the Champions League.

To defend ourselves against these threats and insults,

we had to turn to the Spanish justice system.

We want the values of the of the European Union are fulfilled,

prohibit the formation of monopolies.

We were threatened on a massive scale.

We were threatened to exclude clubs from ongoing competitions.

Players should be excluded from national competitions should be excluded.

The sanction was something that... It was predictable.

We sued before the Commercial Court in Madrid,

to clarify whether UEFA is acting as a monopolist

and exploits its dominant position,

to prevent the introduction new products.

The case crystallized:

"You can either be the organizer of the biggest event in world soccer

or the police officer, the supervising organization organization over all of this."

At this moment you have a dirty soup,

in which all this was stirred together.

And it starts to taste tasting increasingly awful.

When money is at stake for the of competition, money is at stake,

innovation is impossible.

Anything that proposes to change the existing competition,

goes against the one who basically makes the rules

and can beat you with it.

It's like the number of soaps in the supermarket.

You choose your favorite.

And I think the same should also apply to competitions.

The judges will decide on this.

Čeferin as a lawyer

discusses with other lawyers, whether this would be possible.

So that participants in the Super League be allowed to take part in UEFA competitions.

And it gets even more dramatic. We'll get to that.

It was said that UEFA had a monopoly.

She would have if we said: "Other competitions are off limits for you,

we forbid it and have the power to do so."

But we never did. We said: "Do you enter other competitions,

then not ours."

This is anything but than anti-competitive.

This idea is a slap in the face of all soccer fans.

Čeferin is a lawyer. It would be surprising if he did not know what effects

his threats had and that he had chosen a path,

which could lead to legal entanglements could lead to legal entanglements.

We must ban them as quickly as possible from all our competitions as quickly as possible.

It was a gamble, to gather the troops,

because he took it so personally.

I am angry. I am angry, but...

So it's not surprising that he fell into a trap,

which should lead to a lawsuit in Madrid, an interim injunction.

Has he gone too far with the courts gone too far?

Everyone hates governments and government bodies.

But our competitions are fantastic, and anyone can take part.

That is the difference to all these elitist things,

where you isolate yourself and think you're the greatest,

and its own system is the best for soccer.

In the battle for the Super League the social democracy fought

against the merciless shark capitalism,

who is ruining the world.

Not everything is for sale.

Some things are sacred.

The Super League clubs said: "Yes, it generates a lot of revenue,

which we will pass on to small clubs will pass on."

I think from experience, this is highly unlikely.

These owners don't care about small clubs.

They say: "We didn't have a chance to explain ourselves."

Oh come on. Come on. Behave yourselves.

It was the secrecy.

I think it's funny when they say it's for the good of soccer.

We help the others." Then why are you hiding it?

Don't play Robin Hood. That's not true.

To believe,

that the owners had benevolent would be illusory.

For so long, soccer has not for the good of the sport

or the fans,

but for those who made it in there.

Soccer has become a zero-sum game.

The shares of Man United rose by 10 % in early trading.

Juventus has risen increased by 17 % today. They are reaping the rewards.

That's a good thing for the teams,

but also for the individual leagues.

Do the owners produce a better product product than the existing competition...

EHEM. PLAYER

...then I will become a customer.

Fans from all over the world will want to be part of it.

I see the business sense.

SHAME ON YOU, @UEFACOM WE NEED THE SUPER LEAGUE

The stock market is reacting positively,

when it comes to developments regarding compliance and market rules,

because it will not be be a loss-making business.

Soccer is based on a shaky foundation.

One day this building will collapse.

Let's build it on a new foundation that benefits everyone.

The proposal of a European Super League,

that threatens the very existence of soccer, as we know it, poses an existential threat,

seems to go through.

They are financial and media support.

It becomes very real very quickly.

A huge upheaval in European soccer history.

UEFA threatens the players with a ban from the World Cup.

There is no turning back.

Both sides now have firmly established positions.

So what happens next?

A SECRET WEAPON

In one of these leaked proposals and documents,

that showed what the Super League would look like,

we found the code name W01.

THE FOUNDATION OF THE SUPER LEAGUE

CONDITION 1: W01 CONDITION

The agreement contained the coded note:

"We need the support of W01."

The documents leaked to us looked like a secret plan.

They used a secret language, and each member had a code name.

One was World 01.

The Super League documents

mentioned a "W01".

They shied away from mentioning the name.

The Super League wanted institutional support.

Who could this W01 be?

We thought, it could only be one person.

If what was in those documents was true, was true, it would be like an earthquake.

Either you are there

or you're out.

You can't be half in or half out.

Subtitles by: Maja Chalhoub