UEFA pushing for 2-year ban for remaining Super League sides

UEFA are keen to issue the four remaining Super League sides - Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus and AC Milan - with two-year bans from the Champions League and Europa League if they do not formally distance themselves from the breakaway competition.

Eight of the 12 sides involved in the catastrophic plans have announced their withdrawal, with Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Chelsea, Inter Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur all formally apologising to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin for their involvement.

Ceferin threatened significant punishments for all 12 sides initially, and with four teams still clinging on for dear life, ESPN state that the UEFA chief is looking to push forward with his disciplinary plans.

The idea of lifetime bans from UEFA competitions was floated about in the early stages, but that is not actually an option. The maximum punishment UEFA can hand out is two-year bans, so that's what they are pushing for.

The eight sides who have withdrawn are also expected to face punishments, but Ceferin has vowed to treat each club individually and has praised the one-time rebels for apologising for their mistakes. Seven teams are already believed to have agreed on punishments, with Inter expected to follow suit soon.

"For me it's a clear difference between the English clubs and the other six," he said. "They pulled out first; they admitted they made a mistake.

"For me, there are three groups of this 12 -- the English six, who went out first, then the other three [Atletico Madrid, Milan and Inter] after them and then the ones who feel the Earth is flat and they think the Super League still exists [Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus]. And there is a big difference between those. But everyone will be held responsible. In what way, we will see."

Ceferin is keen to charge the four remaining sideswith a breach of Article 51 of the statutes, which states: "No combinations or alliances between... clubs affiliated, directly or indirectly, to different UEFA Member Associations may be formed without the permission of UEFA."

However, those four teams believe such bans are impossible. Firstly, AC Milan, Barcelona, Juventus and Real are arguing that their plan to form the Super League was simply asking UEFA for 'permission and recognition', rather than officially breaking away from the organisation.

There's also a Madrid court injunction - which ruled that UEFA could not discipline teams for their desire to form the Super League - to deal with. Sources close to the situation believe that UEFA could not simply punish the four teams without facing an enormous legal battle which would make it incredibly difficult.

Ceferin does not want things to get that far and simply wants at least one of the four remaining sides to withdraw. It's understood that the Super League will officially collapse once and for all if nine of the 12 teams pull out, so the hope is that an agreement can be reached away from the court room.

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