The Hoops’ position on the breakaway was earlier established by Dermot Desmond, who declined the set-up.
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Though he acknowledges he doesn’t anticipate Celtic being a part of the revival, the man behind the North Atlantic League has revealed his aspirations to further the setup.
Irish sports investment guru and Shelbourne vice-chairman Andrew Doyle had ambitions to establish a regional league four years ago that comprised Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen, Hibs, and Hearts. The 20-team international tournament would have included clubs from the Republic of Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. With the support of investment giant JP Morgan and an anticipated revenue of up to £350 million annually from TV, the league would have permanent promotion and relegation.
The plans, however, were derailed when Celtic powerbroker Dermot Desmond recently stated he was not interested in them, despite Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack’s encouragement to change his mind since he thought European or cross-border leagues will soon be established. The contentious European Super League plan that followed saw Celtic reaffirm their opposition to any breakaway leagues.
The European Court of Justice would rule that UEFA and FIFA were ‘abusing a dominant position’ – and Doyles reckons the Champions League already acts as a Super League. Speaking to The Daily Mail, Doyle is adamant the plans differed from the ESL in that promotion from and relegation to domestic leagues would be built in to the set-up – with leagues in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania set to play a key role in a fresh proposal.
As he talked about the proposals, Doyle took a jab at Celtic when asked if the initiative could be reintroduced in the aftermath of the Super League fiasco. It could, of course, but Celtic would have to desire to be competitive in Europe, and I imagine they’re quite content to be at the top of a declining SPFL forever and then perpetually outmatched in the Champions League.’ was his response.
They’re riding the gravy train. They stand to gain even more from the new UEFA Champions League format, as more European games translate into more European cash. In Scotland’s situation, our structure would have satisfied all fair UEFA requirements because it was advantageous to all parties involved, not just Celtic and Rangers. Celtic are not expected to pursue it as long as the current system is in place and Scotland’s ranking on the UEFA access list is still relatively high.
“I believe they will be content to win the Premiership year after year, as it will guarantee them a spot in the round of 32, where they will unfortunately lose but still receive all that European money.” Naturally, this guarantees that Scottish football will always be utterly uncompetitive, as nobody can match Celtic’s financial might.
