 president Gabriele Gravina has said.){kind=link}
Juventus face being kicked out of Serie A if the club do not withdraw from the European Super League, Italian football federation (FIGC) president Gabriele Gravina has said.
AC Milan and Inter Milan have backed out of the breakaway competition, leaving Juventus as the sole Italian club persisting with the plans.
“The rules are clear. If Juventus is still part of the Super League when it enters next season, it can’t participate in Serie A,” Gravina told Naples radio station Kiss Kiss.
“I would be sorry for the fans but rules are rules and they apply to everyone. I hope this holdout ends soon.”
Juventus won Serie A last season but have since relinquished the title to Inter
On Saturday, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus hit out at “intolerable” pressure and threats to abandon the European Super League project, and vowed to “persevere” with the idea despite its considerable rejection.
The three lingering clubs of the original 12 issued a joint statement on the weekend defending their basis for the ESL’s creation and expressed “regret” at seeing the other nine – including the Premier League’s so-called ‘Big Six’ – recommit to UEFA on Friday.
Real, Barca and Juve are set to face “appropriate action” by UEFA for their role in the fiasco, which was met with vehement condemnation from throughout the football community, but the trio of clubs have warned UEFA to back off and hope they will be open in future to discussing solutions to the “systemic crisis in the football sector”.
Their statement read: “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.
“The Super League project was designed jointly by its 12 founding clubs with the aim of providing solutions to the current unsustainable situation in the football industry. The 12 founding clubs shared the same concerns as other stakeholders in European football do, particularly under the current socio-economic context, that structural reforms are indispensable to ensure our sport stays appealing and survives in the long-term.
“(The Super League project was designed jointly by its 12 founding clubs also) with the utmost respect for the current football structures and ecosystem. The founding clubs expressly agreed that the Super League would only take place if such a competition was recognised by UEFA and/or FIFA or if, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, it was deemed to be a competition duly compatible for all purposes with the continuity of the founding clubs in their respective domestic competitions. However, despite being aware of the above terms, UEFA and FIFA have so far refused to establish any adequate channel of communication.