Italian soccer will not punish clubs for Super League idea

Posted April 21, 2021 7:00 am

The Associated Press

A banner in the colours of AC Milan and reading in Italian "Old style" is displayed outside the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Monday, April 19, 2021. AC Milan, along with Juventus and Inter Milan, are the three Italian clubs that entered as founding members in the European Super League. The Super League intends to launch a 20-team competition with 15 founding members but only 12 have currently signed up. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno) The Associated Press

MILAN (AP) - The Italian soccer federation will not punish Juventus and the Milan clubs for their involvement in the failed attempt to launch a Super League.

'œAbsolutely not, you can't punish an idea that wasn't carried out,'ť said FIGC president Gabriele Gravina when asked if he would impose sanctions on the three Serie A clubs.

The Super League project was abandoned by the three Italian clubs on Wednesday, the day after the six Premier League teams involved in the new competition made it unviable by dropping out.

AtlÃ©tico Madrid also pulled out on Wednesday, leaving Spanish powerhouses Real Madrid and Barcelona as the only teams still officially involved.

But Gravina said the plans for the Super League should serve as a wake-up call that change is needed.

'œIt seems as if everything has returned to normal but it is an alert that should make us reflect on the fact that something is not working and that should be further examined,'ť he said. 'œThere needs to be remedies and proposals in order to avoid other breakaways going forwards.'ť

The Super League was intended to be a 20-team competition with 15 founding members guaranteed a spot every season and five other teams rotating in and out. The lack of relegation for the founding members raised concerns about the consequences for smaller clubs in the domestic leagues around the continent.

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FILE - In this Sept. 26, 2015 file photo, Juventus President Andrea Agnelli arrives for a Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Juventus, at the San Paolo stadium in Naples, Italy. If the stylish and swashbuckling soccer romantic Giovanni Agnelli represented the epitome of club presidents a few generations ago, his nephew Andrea Agnelli's affinity for the cut-throat business side of the sport falls more in line with the American and foreign owners who are gobbling up the European game. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta, Files) The Associated Press

AC Milan's Hakan Calhanoglu celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's opening goal during the Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Sassuolo at the San Siro stadium, in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, April 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni) The Associated Press

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