Italian soccer federation president, Gabriele Gravina has said Juventus faces expulsion from the country’s top league if they do not withdraw from the European Super League.
While AC Milan and Inter Milan have already pulled out of the controversial bid to form a breakaway competition, Juventus remains the only Italian club still pushing for the move.
‘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.’
Real Madrid and Barcelona are also still holding onto the project, despite the risk of being banned from the Champions League.
‘I hope this holdout ends soon,’ Gravina added.
Three weeks ago six English clubs, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, and Tottenham backed out within 48 hours of the project’s announcement after a backlash from fans football pundit.
The comments from Gravina follow a joint statement from Juventus, Barcelona, and Real Madrid over the weekend, slamming ‘unacceptable pressures, threats and offences’ to scrap the Super League project, turning on the nine clubs that have signed a deal with UEFA.
‘The founding clubs have suffered, and continue to suffer, unacceptable third-party pressures, threats, and offences 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,’ the statement read.
‘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.’
