Re-elected UEFA president Ceferin goes on offensive against Super League rebels

LISBON: Aleksander Ceferin railed against the rebel clubs backing a breakaway European Super League, likening the project to “Little Red Riding Hood,” as he was re-elected unopposed for a third term as UEFA president on Wednesday. The 55-year-old Slovenian lawyer, first elected in 2016 following the downfall of Frenchman Michel Platini, will now remain in the role until 2027. “I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your unanimous support.

It really means a lot to me,” Ceferin told delegates after being re-elected by acclamation at the UEFA Congress in Lisbon. “It is a great honor but mainly it is a great, great responsibility, toward you and toward football.” The UEFA Congress came just a few weeks after Gianni Infantino was re-elected as president of the sport’s world governing body FIFA, also unopposed. Ceferin recently successfully opposed proposals by Infantino to hold the World Cup every two years, and his re-election comes after he also fought off the breakaway Super League project during his second term.

He will now oversee the introduction of a new format for the Champions League starting next year. However, the Super League is not dead yet, with Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus continuing to pursue the project. A lawsuit has been launched against UEFA and FIFA at the European Court of Justice, accusing the governing bodies of abusing their power by threatening to expel clubs and players interested in joining a breakaway league.