Shouldn’t that read: A european superleague is inevitable. €€€€€€€€€€€€
2 Likes
Oh shit. Project Endgame.
‘FIFA European Premier League’
What i read between the lines is that Corona did cost the corrupt Fifa bastards lots of money and now they want to get it from somewhere else.
The other corrupt bastards (the ones from UEFA) won’t be happy.
1 Like
All that will happen is the cost of the levy will be added to what they ask for in broadcast deals with the rest being made up by rinsing the fans further.
The recent digital advertising tax is very much like you described I believe. Google won’t pay tax on earnings so the UK have imposed a tax on the revenue going through their platform, in part to try and help the high street be able to compete. Google in turn have passed that on to advertisers because they won’t accept it coming out of their pocket. Advertisers are already struggling because the UK has some of the highest advertising costs in the world so they will invariably then increase prices to get consumers to pay for it.
However it’s done, the people who won’t lose out here are the clubs at the top. Force them to financially support the pyramid at the bottom and they’ll generate revenue in a different way and it will be fans that no doubt end up paying for it.
I think you are right; if a levy were to be imposed, there can be little doubt that the cost would be passed onto the consumer.
However, I was questioning the legality of such a levy.
My comparison i.e. imposing a levy on online retailers simply to subsidise the high street, was poorly phrased. I should have said that it would be like imposing a levy on online retailers, in addition to, and after the Digital Services Tax had been extracted.
The Digital Services Tax was introduced to address the misalignment (for businesses operating in the digital economy) between the place where profits are taxed and the place where value is created. In other words it is a measure introduced to address what is perceived to be tax avoidance by businesses operating in the digital economy.
Also, there is no suggestion of hypothecation; the money raised from the tax will not be paid directly as a subsidy to terrestrial retailers.
By comparison, the Premier League already pays tax on its profits, as do the Premier League clubs, so there is no tax avoidance loophole to close.
So, from a fiscal sense, there is no legal justification for a levy.
The Government has many powers, but forcing an individual or entity to make charitable donations to those less well off is not [yet] one of them.
1 Like
It makes me laugh when you have Sky Sports News putting a damper on it (like they have no agenda at all) ex-players doing interviews on it slagging off LFC and United about this move or the new European super league,calling it dispicable to make these moves at this moment in time,when people are dying in a pandemic,people are losing there jobs with financial difficulties around the country/world,all so the clubs can make more money.
I mean,are these ex-players who are getting paid by Sky that stupid,Sky are charging £28 a month for the Sports package subscription and are now for the first time ever (when people are dying in a pandemic,people are losing there jobs with financial difficulties around the country/world) charging an extra £15 per game with PPV fee’s.Why aren’t they having a go at Sky for fleecing the fans yet again,asking why clubs are doing this now,maybe because the lions share of PPV is going into the Premier league and Sky’s pockets and not the clubs.
4 Likes
You’re absolutely right. There’s no way they can look at one business and impose a levy on them in order to prop up what is essentially their competition.
Are Dyson expected to share their revenue with Hoover, Vax and whoever it is that makes Henry’s? In any other context it would just be seen as competition where the strongest survive.
I’m not keen to see clubs go to the wall and Bury FC certainly means more to the town and the people than a company that makes hoovers but surely there needs to be an exploration into how to make these clubs sustainable rather than just having them suckle on the premier league’s teat.
If someone like Cheltenham can only attract 3k fans a home game then are they really a viable professional club? If the interest isn’t there to make it a viable club then perhaps it’s time they went semi pro or amateur. Why should they benefit from the PL TV deal when people in their own town aren’t that interested in them.
3 Likes
Wow reading some of these comments almost seems as though FSG are getting a free pass
1 Like
I think this part is very well said.
If the interest is there to sustain a club, then great.
If the interest isn’t there, cut your cloth accordingly.
The whole world works like this.
I don’t think it should be the responsibility of Prem teams to pay for lower teams to exist. It is their own responsibility, and by extension, the responsibility of their own fans.
2 Likes
As usual, there’s more than meet the eyes in the Project Big Picture.
Greg Clarke is a naughty boy!
3 Likes
Nah; he’s the messiah.
3 Likes
Just to make my position clear for the future. If Liverpool is part of this move towards a European Super League, I condemn the club for it. If not, fantastic, as I really don’t want to condemn Liverpool for anything at all. But the idea of leaving the national league for a en elite click for monetary reasons is loathsome in the extreme.
That is all really. Reading the stories about this European super league has only made me sad and I would rather not spend time with this thread reading about a European super league in the future.
4 Likes
I’m adopting a wait and see approach.
Not very brave, I know, but I’m unwilling to nail my colors to the mast one way or another about whether or not I approve. My suspicion is there’s a lot of posturing from all corners, and we don’t really know the details.
Well that brings a totally new light to everything.
So while the rest of the PL blame us, it actually had been in discussions with the FA and several clubs for a while to ensure long term viability of English football.
The PL knew about it, and have been reluctant for any reform (or rescue package)
It shouldn’t come as any surprise that the other PL clubs were aware of it, nor Clarke’s role as one of the protagonists. Fairly certain that the PL clubs who have publicly objected to these plans will find themselves on the outside looking in soon enough.
2 Likes
Lots of criticism of PBP was about the supposed power grab by the Big 6 teams.
But lets look at something as straightforward as the 5-sub rule. The PL is the only top league in Europe that is not implementing this rule.
None of the clubs outside the top six supported it because in their view it benefitted the top teams. In a season such as this with massive fixture congestion, you would think that something this straightforward made sense for everybody. And even if one team might benefit more than the next, it simply had benefits for everybody, as long as the focus was on the welfare of players.
Net effect of this is that the PL is hostage to the poor decision of these small teams and is worse for it as a league.
The idea of spreading decision making power evenly is good, so long as the quality of the decisions from each team is evenly high…
2 Likes
In a way I like the egalitarian approach in the Prem, as everyone has a say. But then again, they are not all equal. Some of the small teams seem to want to stick it to the big boys but it won’t end well for them. It’s like a little kid kicking off on a big kid. They are swinging away and it’s almost endearing, but at some point the smack down is coming.
The top teams have the pull to leave, and make something else, if they want to. They have offered a solution to the crippling financial problems in the football pyramid, and there were a couple details that some of the smaller Prem teams didn’t like, as it gave them increased competition, and they are as guilty of wanting to feather their own nest as anyone.
I’m not sure how this will all end, but It is notable that the Prem and the smaller teams have not put any meaningful solutions forward.
We don’t have a thread for European Super League, so I’m posting it here
Is that a threat or a promise? I think that might actually appeal to some players (and most clubs)
2 Likes
Clubs would love it.
Players though enjoy playing for their country for the most part. Some do complain about homesickness during tournements, but as long as they are getting picked they tend to not worry about it too much. It is only when they are not getting selected that it becomes more of an issue
1 Like