Arsenal are leading calls for a boycott of the Champions League by
Europe's biggest clubs unless Uefa president Michel Platini scraps
his controversial reforms for the competition.
The 18 clubs which make up the G14 are threatening to set up a
breakaway European Super League unless Platini backs down over his
pledge to open up the Champions League to more countries from
smaller nations.
They also want him to shelve his proposals to allow the winners of
domestic cup competitions, including the holders of the FA Cup,
entry into Europe's premier club tournament.
A final decision is due to be made by the Uefa executive at a
meeting in Lucerne, Switzerland, on Nov 30. But frantic
negotiations are already under way between the leading clubs and
leagues in Europe to persuade Platini to drop his controversial
reforms.
Arsenal are bitterly opposed to the proposal which would see the
cup winners from the top 16 European countries battling it out for
four places in the lucrative group phase, arguing that it devalues
the competition.
The matter came to a head two weeks ago at a meeting of the G14
management board where Keith Edelman, the Arsenal managing
director, told fellow senior officials from Barcelona, Porto,
Juventus, Barcelona and Bayern Munich that the only way to force
Platini to change his mind was to threaten Uefa with a boycott or a
breakaway.
