UEFA says Real, Man City, Chelsea will be removed from Champions League

Due to joining the newly created Super League against the will of UEFA, Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Chelsea will not continue playing in the UEFA Champions League this season. This was announced by UEFA Executive Committee member Jesper Moller, CBS Sports reported.

"[Real Madrid, Manchester City and Chelsea] are going out, and I expect that to happen on Friday," Moller said. "And then you have to see how to finish the Champions League."

"There must be one extraordinary executive committee meeting on Friday. I have an expectation that the 12 clubs will be thrown out," Moller said.

As reported earlier, twelve of Europe’s leading football clubs have agreed to establish a Super League, despite widespread criticism of the plans.

A statement from the new competition said: “AC Milan, Arsenal, Atlético Madrid, Chelsea, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur have all joined as founding clubs.

“It is anticipated that a further three clubs will join ahead of the inaugural season, which is intended to commence as soon as practicable.”

The project is being launched to rival UEFA’s Champions League format which currently dominates European football, and it comes as UEFA was due to sign off on plans for an expanded and restructured Champions League on Monday.

UEFA, the FA, and the English Premier League are among others to have expressed opposition, saying in a joint statement that they “remain united in our efforts to stop this cynical project”, adding: “We thank those clubs in other countries, especially the French and German clubs, who have refused to sign up to this.

“This persistent self-interest of a few has been going on for too long. Enough is enough.”

The Super League competition will see 20 participating clubs—15 founding clubs, and a further five teams able to qualify annually based on their achievements during the previous season.

It will begin in August with clubs participating in two groups of 10, playing home and away fixtures, some during the week, with the top three in each group qualifying for the quarterfinals.

Teams finishing fourth and fifth will compete in a two-legged play-off for the remaining quarterfinal spots before a knockout format is used to reach the final at the end of May, which will be staged as a single fixture at a neutral venue.

Club players will be able to continue competing in their national leagues and, as soon as possible after the men’s competition begins, a women’s league will also be launched.

Follow NEWS.am SPORT on Facebook, Twitter and Telegram