Premier League clubs collectively reject UEFA’s revised plans for Champions League
Last Updated: February 18, 2021 3:31 pm
Premier League asks UEFA to go back to the drawing board
As this season’s Champions League knock out phase begins on pitches across Europe, the battle over the future of the competition continues in boardrooms.
Sam Wallace of the Telegraph has revealed that Premier League clubs have rejected a number of UEFA’s proposals for the Champions League beyond 2024, including the controversial awarding of places based on historical performance, and changes to scheduling which would see games played throughout the domestic season:
NEW: Premier League shareholders meeting today has agreed to ask Uefa to reconsider its plan, post-2024, to award Champions League places on basis of historical performance (known as Uefa co-efficient). More @TeleFootball
— Sam Wallace (@SamWallaceTel) February 17, 2021
The expanded proposal surrounding a 36-team league, in which clubs would play ten fixtures throughout the season, was rejected by all 20 clubs in the Premier League during a video call. It was seen as a direct rival to the English top-flight, and likely to impact its broadcast value, which could be redistributed to a European competition full of the continent’s elite clubs.
While the Premier League is not against the expansion of the competition, it will ask UEFA to ensure that group stages or first round alternatives are completed before Christmas.
The clubs also considered the proposal that four places of the thirty six would be awarded on a UEFA coefficient basis, based on clubs’ performances over the preceding five years. Two such places would be awarded to France’s Ligue 1, or the winners of Holland’s Eredivisie, but the remaining two would benefit clubs to have qualified for the Europa League and Europa Conference League.
The two best UEFA coefficient qualifiers would be given an “access boost” to the Champions League, which would mean a team like Liverpool or Manchester City could finish outside the top-4, but still qualify. The Premier League, though, rejected this, and asked UEFA to make new proposals.
League Cup preservation also key
The EFL Carabao Cup is seen during the first draw for the upcoming season’s EFL Cup football tournament at Tawandaeng brewery in Bangkok on June 16, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Lillian SUWANRUMPHA (Photo credit should read LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP/Getty Images)
Another point of contention for the Premier League was the potential scrapping of the League Cup.
The trophy marks the first major showpiece final of the English calendar, and will see Man City face Spurs in April this time around.
The potential loss of the League Cup, which is one of the major revenue streams for the Football League (EFL), was always likely to prove a sticking point, as the EFL would require compensation for their loss. No final decision was made regarding the competition, though, and discussions will soon begin with the EFL.
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This article was edited by Conor Laird.
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| 1 | Manchester City FC | 28 | 37 | 65 |
| 2 | Manchester United FC | 28 | 23 | 54 |
| 3 | Leicester City FC | 28 | 16 | 53 |
| 4 | Chelsea FC | 27 | 17 | 47 |
| 5 | Everton FC | 26 | 6 | 46 |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 27 | 18 | 45 |
| 7 | West Ham United FC | 26 | 9 | 45 |
| 8 | Liverpool FC | 28 | 11 | 43 |
| 9 | Aston Villa FC | 26 | 11 | 40 |
| 10 | Arsenal FC | 27 | 7 | 38 |
| 11 | Leeds United | 26 | -1 | 35 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 28 | -9 | 35 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace FC | 28 | -17 | 34 |
| 14 | Southampton FC | 27 | -11 | 33 |
| 15 | Burnley FC | 28 | -16 | 30 |
| 16 | Newcastle United FC | 27 | -17 | 27 |
| 17 | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 27 | -8 | 26 |
| 18 | Fulham FC | 28 | -11 | 26 |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion | 28 | -36 | 18 |
| 20 | Sheffield United FC | 28 | -29 | 14 |
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|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 17 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 16 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 16 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 13 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 13 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 12 |
| Gundogan, Ilkay | Manchester City FC | 11 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 10 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 9 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 9 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 9 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 9 |
| Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick | Arsenal FC | 9 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 8 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 8 |
| Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 8 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City FC | 7 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 8 |
| Maguire, Harry | Manchester United FC | 0 | 8 |
| Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 8 |
| Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 7 |
| Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 8 |
| Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 7 |
| Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 6 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 6 |
| Tielemans, Youri | Leicester City FC | 0 | 6 |
| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United FC | 0 | 6 |
| Klich, Mateusz | Leeds United | 0 | 6 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 6 |
| Hojbjerg, Pierre | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 0 | 6 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 5 |
| Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 6 |
| Kante, N`Golo | Chelsea FC | 0 | 6 |
| Phillips, Kalvin | Leeds United | 0 | 6 |
| Luiz, Douglas | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 5 |
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|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 10 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 10 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 9 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 7 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 7 |
| Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 6 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 5 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 5 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 5 |
| Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 5 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 5 |
| Neto, Pedro | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 5 |
| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United FC | 5 |
| Robertson, Andrew | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Willian | Arsenal FC | 5 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 4 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 4 |
