Premier League captains group discuss opposition to European Super League

The 20 Premier League captains are due to discuss issuing a joint statement in opposition to the breakaway European Super League.

The conference call is expected to take place in the next couple of days and follows conversations as to whether squads at individual clubs should respond.

However, in an echo of the #PlayersTogether initiative which was launched last year to raise funds for the NHS at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the captains are now expected to get together. It has been decided a collective approach across the Premier League would be far more effective.

There is already a Premier League captains WhatsApp group and meetings were held last year with the Premier League to discuss such issues as returning to play matches and any health and safety concerns.

The group is extended to some senior players at clubs and not just limited to captains. It appears Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson is organising the latest meeting – and was instrumental the #PlayersTogether initiative along with Manchester United captain Harry Maguire.

The meeting will follow on from an emergency meeting of the 14 Premier League clubs who are not part of the breakaway which finished on Tuesday lunchtime. The Premier League later issued a statement rejected the breakaway plan and adding that it is “considering all actions available to prevent it progressing”.

The videoconference excluded the so-called Big Six clubs but the captains call will include representatives from United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Manchester City.

A response from all the players at the 20 clubs would represent a powerful message. Many players have already privately expressed their concerns, with a handful having made public statements, but it now appears there will be a more co-ordinated approach.

Players, now is your time: will you hide, or be heroes?

By Jason Burt

Now is the time for the #PlayersTogether campaign to be heard again. Just as the so-called ‘Big Six’ Premier League clubs have shown a united front, (for now at least) with their selfish, awful European Super League breakaway plan, then what a moment it would be for the players they employ – and those from the other 14 clubs – to unite as one voice against it.

It is a lot to ask a young player on his own to campaign. There has been talk that Marcus Rashford, after his brilliant work in combatting child poverty, should take lead in speaking out against his employer, Manchester United - the club at the vanguard of this rebellion. But it should not come down to individual players even if Rashford’s former United team-mate, Ander Herrera, now at Paris Saint-Germain, has already delivered his public criticism.

Such statements have an effect. But they only go so far. Instead this should be a shared responsibility, one that can co-ordinated by the 20 Premier League captains, just as they were mobilised last year during the pandemic.

Back then the initiative was announced with the aim of raising money for the NHS and it was strongly stated that it had nothing to do with responding to calls – led by Government ministers – for the players to “play their part” and take wage cuts or pay deferrals as football shut down.

“We can confirm that after extensive conversations between a huge number of players from all Premier League clubs we have created our own collective player initiative,” it was announced, and although its expressed aim was to raise money there was also the promise to “make a real difference” and that it was only the start of something.

It is time for a similar statement. It is time for a strong stance. Every player has to make their own decision – and, who knows, some may even like the idea of joining an elitist, relegation-free league where they will surely be offered even higher salaries – but most will object to it.

Most have a conscience. Most know where they come from. Most appreciate their journey. Most know and respect the importance of grassroots football, helping lower league clubs, of being part of the community. Most want to be liked, loved, popular and respect the fans. Most are or were fans. Rashford has made that evident in his campaigning and he is not alone. Many players have their own foundations, work for charities, give something back. They want to have their own legacies.

What greater legacy could there be than to save football as we know it? A collective, hard-hitting, campaigning response led by the players would quite possibly be the tipping point to get even the thickest-skinned club owners to change their minds. It would completely isolate them.

That is why players are already checking their contracts. They do not want to be part of a breakaway and they certainly do not want to face the threat of being banned from playing for their countries at the European Championships and World Cups. International football matters to them - perhaps more than their clubs think.

And what can those clubs do if they do speak out? If they do launch their own campaign? They are hardly going to fine them or discipline them because they need them. Football is nothing without the fans and clubs are nothing without the players who love the adulation not the opprobrium. The Liverpool players and manager Jurgen Klopp did not enjoy the hostility they received at Leeds United on Monday evening.

Klopp is right. He and the players and other club employees are not to blame and do not deserve to be vilified. But neither are they not involved. They are part of it. They are key, fundamental elements to this and have a right to express their views and are in far more powerful positions than the average employee of a business which does something that is wrong.

This is not a time for players from clubs on either side of this crisis to be divided. This is a time for them to show the greatest level of unity they can. There is a Premier League captain’s WhatsApp group and it would be a surprise if it has not already been active over the past 48 hours.

What can they do? Certainly they can make their voices heard, they can state their objections, and those from the Big Six can – for example – also refuse to co-operate with club media and commercial events. It is in their contracts to do so but what are the clubs going to do? They can even go further. They can - if it comes down to it - take industrial action. Sure the terms of their contracts are not being altered and legally they may be in a difficult position but – again – what are the clubs going to do if the players rebel?

It will not come to that. They will not have to go on strike but they can express their opinions without fear of recrimination. We have heard the objections from the leagues, the governing bodies, the Governments, the fans and the media but now we need to hear from the players. Not lone voices, not one or two or even a few high-profile names. We need a powerful collective response to hit back at this terrible plan. We need the players to be together.