A SPLIT among Uefa’s elite clubs could scupper plans to turn European football into a closed shop.
Juventus president Andrea Agnelli had ordered the 232 members of the European Clubs Association to boycott yesterday’s meeting of League chiefs in Madrid.
Agnelli wants to expand the Champions League from 2024, with four groups of eight clubs and automatic entry for the likes of Manchester United and AC Milan.
But he was forced on to the back foot as 80 clubs, including Chelsea and Atletico Madrid, attended the meeting.
According to Lars-Christer Olsson, chief executive of the European Leagues umbrella group which includes the Prem,
Agnelli backed down and suggested his scheme was “an idea for a concept and not a final proposal”.
Swede Olsson, former Uefa chief exec, said: “All the clubs must be represented in the future of European football, not just an elite.
“The vast majority of clubs don’t want to see any closed league in Europe and definitely not one under Uefa.
“You should qualify for European competitions via the domestic leagues, otherwise it’s impossible to keep the interest of the fans.”
EFL clubs are demanding the right to follow Derby’s example of selling their ground to get round Financial Fair Play rules.
The Rams turned an approximate £7million loss into a £14m profit in 2017-18 after selling Pride Park to owner Mel Morris and then leasing it back.
Some clubs feel Derby exploited a loophole and are pressing EFL chiefs to intervene. If not, they are ready to use nominal ‘sales’ to allow them to make wholesale transfer investments.
League lawyers are due to report back this month over whether Championship clubs should have the right to scrutinise rivals’ finances.
VAR plans for next season in the Prem will have their final try-out on Sunday.
Ten teams of VAR officials will be on duty for the last ‘live trial’ tests of the season.
The teams, based at the league’s Stockley Park HQ near Heathrow, will not be wired up to match refs but act as if they are by recommending decision overrules.
PREMIER LEAGUE clubs will share a record £3billion in TV money from next season — despite the drop in the value of domestic deals.
The new three-year agreements, with Amazon joining Sky and BT, saw a slight drop in UK broadcast revenue from £5.3bn to £5bn.
But there was a 33 per cent increase in overseas rights to £4bn.
It means the Prem’s bottom-placed club next season will earn around £99m, slightly up from this term’s expected £97m, while next year’s champions will bank around £165m, up from £150m.
SALLY MUNDAY, who oversaw GB hockey’s rise to women’s Olympic gold in Rio, will replace Liz Nicholl as chief exec of UK Sport.
The appointment from the autumn, after Nicholl stepped down following 20 years in the role, will make Munday one of the most powerful figures in British sport and in charge of significant funding decisions.
Munday will work alongside chair and rowing legend Dame Katherine Grainger.
