Scudamore warns Caborn of "smokescreen"

Richard Caborn's plans for the reform of European football is greatly opposed by the Premier League and it wrote to the sports minister warning him that his proposal has been commandeered by Brussel politicians looking to form a European super league.

Caborn was the driving force behind the European Sports Review, a session that was chaired by Portuguese Jose Luis Arnaut. The Premier League vehemently opposes Arnaut's recommendations, including the granting of more power over domestic football to UEFA.

Caborn's motivation was to prevent corruption in football and curb the financial excesses of Roman Abramovich's regime at English Chelsea, but the Premier League feels that a consequence of the process was to hand European politicians an opportunity to set rules for the domestic game.

The Arnaut review prompted a European Parliament debate on the future of football, during which the possibility of establishing a European super league under the control of UEFA was raised.

In a letter to Caborn, which was seen by the Guardian and copied to club chairmen, Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore warns that factions in the European Parliament and the European Commission are using the review as a "smokescreen" for more fundamental changes, including a super league.

Scudamore intervened after Belgian MEP Ivo Belet made comments that a European super league that distributed cash across Europe was "a perfect solution."

One of the proposals under consideration is to grant UEFA the power to licence domestic football as well as its own competitions, and remove clubs' right to appeal to the courts, potentially giving UEFA the power to set up a European league.

"We have long suspected that the European football debate was really a smokescreen for those who want to end national differences in football and impose a standardised European model," Scudamore wrote. "This declaration by Ivo Belet proves that we were right to be concerned. You [Caborn] have long been a supporter of the plans to increase European control of national football competitions, but I believe that you fall short of wanting to see a European Super League.

"I would also welcome your view on the wider issue that underpins the ability to set up a European Super League - if the EU and UEFA were to be given the powers proposed by the Arnaut report and the European Parliament, is there anything that could stop them ... even if the UK sports minister and the whole of English football were opposed?"

A spokesman said there was "no way" Caborn would support a super league.

"All Richard's work on this issue has been about protecting and strengthening national leagues and sporting federations, not weakening them," he said.

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.