On Sunday the 18th of April, the bombshell news that the ‘big six’ in England had agreed to leave the current UEFA Champions League format and form a breakaway European Super League, consisting of the top clubs in Europe, was revealed. The clubs quickly backed down two days later following an almost unanimous condemnation, including from the UK government as well as from FIFA and UEFA. However, this has not simply gone away. Many are calling for these big six clubs to be punished and fans of the clubs are using this as an opportunity to remove their owners, with some hoping that it will force the government to implement a 50+1 rule in ownership. One thing has become evident, people want change, but will anything actually happen?

The news of the proposed Super League went down incredibly poorly amongst fans and pundits alike. Gary Neville referred to the proposals as a “criminal act against football fans in this country” and said that “it’s an absolute disgrace”. He proposed that there should be an “independent regulator, [to] stop these clubs having the power base” which, he believes, would make the Premier League fairer as the Big Six would have less of an influence.

On Friday the 23rd of April, thousands of Arsenal fans gathered outside the Emirates Stadium to protest their owner, Stan Kroenke, and his son, Josh Kroenke. The Super League proposal, of which Kroenke was supposedly vice-chairmen, was the last straw for many fans after ten years of growing animosity between the board and the fans under the Kroenkes’ ownership. Their hopes to remove Kroenke from their club will have been boosted by Daniel Ek, one of the Spotify co-founders, tweeting that he was “happy to throw [his] hat in the ring” and claiming that he had “gathered the funds”. The Kroenkes’ official position is that they will sell under no circumstances but that will be tested by Ek’s proposal, which has garnered the support of Arsenal legends such as Thierry Henry, Patrick Viera and Dennis Bergkamp. Whether Ek has the finances or will even be able to convince Kroenke to sell is still unknown, especially considering he is not known to cave to fan pressure, as shown by his American Franchises.

Up to 10,000 fans are expected to protest outside the Liverpool vs Manchester United match on Sunday the 2nd of May in order to protest the ownership structure and the Glazer family, who have owned the club since 2005. A letter signed by a large quantity of fan forum members stated “We are disgusted, embarrassed and angry at the owner’s actions in relation to the planning, formation and announcement of the European Super League” after the owners released a lacklustre apology to the fans.

The overwhelming feeling following the Super League proposal is that of anger and many are wanting change. However, many are conflicted over what change they actually want; some want punishment to the clubs involved whereas others want the owners to be removed. Many are calling for the implementation of a 50+1 system, however, this is unlikely to actually be implemented due to the vast amount of money in these clubs and the current Conservative government supporting private businesses.