French President Macron angers UEFA over Champions League outburst

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French President Emmanuel Macron angered the head of European football on Tuesday by using a speech at a FIFA reception to denounce a proposal to transform the Champions League into a largely closed competition.

Macron's criticism at an opening event for the Women's World Cup was delivered in front of UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, who said it was “clear interference of politics in sports.”

Macron's comments, based on Ceferin's account, echoed a public intervention by the French leader earlier Tuesday when he urged UEFA to abandon the concept being championed by elite clubs determined to lock in their positions in the Champions League from 2024.

The media was not invited to the reception and the address by Macron at the Grand Palais in the French capital.

French President Emmanuel Macron meets with FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the Elysee Palace in Paris, June 4, 2019. /VCG Photo

"During his speech, he was mentioning UEFA and saying that we should be careful about changes of the Champions League and that solidarity is important," said Ceferin. "The president's speech was a clear interference of politics in sports which surprised us very much."

Under a proposal presented by UEFA to European leagues last month, 24 out of the 32 teams in the group stage would retain their Champions League places for the following season as promotion and relegation are introduced into three tiers of continent-wide competitions.

"It's not so important that the changes might happen or not and that nothing has been decided yet," Ceferin said. "The important thing is that we will not allow politics to dictate us how we govern sports. And since the president was mentioning solidarity, UEFA is the only football organization in Europe that distributes solidarity funds all over Europe. So we know well what solidarity means."

The proposal to overhaul the competition has been challenged by leagues across Europe and French soccer federation Noël Le Graët. They argue the concept could diminish the status of domestic competitions and make it harder for clubs from smaller leagues to earn a place in the group stage of the Champions League.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino talks to UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin at the 67th FIFA Congress at the Bahrain International Exhibition & Convention Centre in Manama, Bahrain, May 11, 2017. /VCG Photo

Macron's first intervention on the Champions League changes came earlier in the day during a visit to Clairefontaine, the France national team's base near Paris.

"We must defend our model, our clubs," Macron said, "and I think it's not a good idea to sacrifice the viability of our model for the benefit of some at the European level."

France is home to one of football's biggest-spending teams, with Paris Saint-Germain breaking the game's transfer record to sign Neymar in 2017 for 262 million U.S. dollars.

"We have often denounced the fact there is so much money in football and particularly men's football in recent years," Macron said. "I am at the side of President Le Graët to defend the French model and avoid reforms that would lead to the worst."

Macron was speaking after meeting France players and coaches who are preparing for the start of the Women's World Cup in Paris on Friday.

Ahead of kickoff, FIFA and its regional confederations are meeting in the French capital where Infantino is preparing for his uncontested reelection on Wednesday.

Source(s): AP