In defence of football’s Super League

Short of dropping Harry Kane from the England team, and replacing him with Andy Carroll on the grounds that what we really need is a big man up front, it is hard to imagine a footballing decision that could be less popular. Twelve of Europe’s biggest clubs, including Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool, have announced plans for a break-away ‘European Super League’. Alongside the domestic competitions, the 12 elite clubs would play each other regularly season after season.

The reaction, to put it mildly, has not been 100 per cent positive, and not just from the now empty terraces. The Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the plan on Twitter. Sir Keir Starmer joined in quicker than you can say offside, while the oddly-titled ‘European Commissioner for Promoting the European Way of Life’ Margaritis Schinas decided it was an affront to that, er, ‘way of life’, tweeting ‘We must defend a values-driven European model of sport based on diversity and inclusion.