'The European Super League threatens to remove the element of competition'

The European Super League is the confirmation of what many have suspected for a long time – that the owners of the country’s biggest football clubs have little or no regard for the things that make the sport so special.

The fans, the history, the community and camaraderie that all supporters share regardless of which team they follow, mean little to these charlatans when there’s a potential £300m windfall to be gained.

I first went to Highbury to watch Arsenal in 1991. As a youngster growing up in Camden Town you’d run into the occasional Spurs fan, but it was Arsenal territory. When you weren’t watching the Gunners you’d be playing football in Coram’s Fields or Market Road, pretending to be one of your Highbury heroes.

Of course, the Gunners have had more success than most clubs down the years, but that has never come without the chance of relegation in an open contest.

Click here to read Bruce Millington's thoughts on the European Super League

The European Super League threatens to remove the element of competition and destroy the football pyramid – the fabric of the sport in this country – all in order to further line the pockets of the richest clubs and those who run them.

It makes those misty-eyed memories of the team you follow seem even more distant, attacks every value that your club should stand for and erodes the sense of community these institutions were born out of. A point has been reached where supporters will take a stand against these disgraceful actions and they need to be supported by the government and anyone else who cares about the integrity of the sport.

Supporters have already watched on as VAR sucks the joy out of the game and then asked to pay £15 to watch Premier League games on TV despite many finding themselves on furlough or out of work completely due to the pandemic. And that’s before you cross into the territory of Arsenal feeling it necessary to make club staff redundant.

The European Super League is the progression of the greed and selfishness that permeates through top-level football and it is a tide that needs to be stemmed before the sport we love becomes even less recognisable.

Henry Hardwicke's Hard Lines column is available to read in the Racing & Football Outlook every Tuesday

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