Andrea Agnelli received heavy criticism in today’s edition of L’Equipe, but not for the regrettable incident with Antonio Conte, but for his push to change the Champions League format in his role as president of the European Club Association (ECA).
The journalist Vincent Duluc called him: “One of the men who hurt the idea of the universality of football the most”, as the Juventus executive often proposed to have mostly the same teams participating to the top continental competition rather than have them qualify through the domestic league. The article stated: “A year ago he bluntly said that Atalanta playing in Champions League was unfair. We know instead what is fundamentally unjust and dangerous for football: That he is designing its future along with his friends.”
While the reform that will start in 2024 has yet to officially come to fruition, it is highly likely to reserve some set spots to the main European clubs and will have a super-sized first stage. The publication believes that the cup will be “the child of the dictatorship and of the greed of the biggest sides” rather than be born out of love like it was originally intended.
“The most common sport in the planet will be seized by a clique and the institutions will bend in front of it out of fear of being left out and missing out on the benefits”, the journalist added, attacking UEFA for its weakness and for accepting the modifications in order to prevent the creation of Super League.