First a disclaimer. I know little to nothing about the world of soccer. I am not a fan of the sport either. In fact, some may call me a hater of the sport.
Like a good American, I knew nothing about this proposed “super league” in Europe. After a little research and a phone conversation with my soccer loving brother, I have enough information I need.
Apparently, a group of the major clubs in Europe decided to create a “super league” that would have them collecting TV and advertising contracts for years to come. Where this differs from other European leagues, the group of teams would not be able to be relegated from the league. Being relegated from a league means that if you finish in the bottom of your league, you are demoted to a lesser league. Thus removed from contention in the Champions league. This “super league” would buy the big ticket teams into the Champions league.
Soccer purists say that the move undermines the integrity of the game, because these “super league” teams would also be playing in their countries league. Basically double dipping and getting ad and TV revenue from two places.
After plans were exposed, UEFA and some of the major leagues refused to allow any participant in the “super league” to play in their tournaments. This reaction meant that if the league went through, teams like Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool wouldn’t be in the English Premiere League.
After that news broke, it became a race to see who could jump out of the “super league” faster. All of the major teams abandoned the plan. The sheer greed of those trying to join was exposed and clubs were forced to backpedal.
One team that stuck out to me was Liverpool. If anyone doesn’t know, Liverpool is owned by the same people that own the Boston Red Sox. The man behind the group is none other than John Henry. Henry released a video apologizing for the “super league” fiasco. See that video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57tcwHCbXzo
Other than the obvious comparisons to Monty Burns from the Simpsons, this apology was mocked. Clearly this move was motivated by greed. Henry and the ownership didn’t care about the fans, they cared about the dollars rolling in. Anyone who is fooled by this apology is blinder than I am.
This apology comes from the same ownership group that has destroyed the Red Sox roster recently. The same people that hired a 3 time convicted cheater as their manager. The greed and lack of integrity is obvious.
The real story that’s not being told is the total lack of media coverage this is getting in Henry’s homeland of Boston. I haven’t seen a single story in any paper in the city about this.
That shouldn’t shock anybody. One of the major papers in Boston is owned by Henry. The Boston Globe has been biased on anything Henry related for years. In the Globe’s case, one of two things has to be true. The first is that Henry explicitly instructed none of the writers to write anything about it to protect himself and his interests. The second option is that all of the writers are afraid to write anything. Who wouldn’t be? It wouldn’t end well for someone to write a hit piece on the situation and then expect Henry to sign their paycheck. But, we all know that the Globe is useless when it comes to that.
The really embarrassing piece is the other paper in the city. The Boston Herald used to be a legitimate competitor for the Globe. Those days have since fallen off. The paper has printed nothing about this situation.
This should be red meat for the Herald. If I were at the Herald, I would have someone camped out in front of Henry’s place constantly asking questions about this situation. The fact that the BBC was the first and only media outlet to confront Henry is an embarrassment. If the Herald were smart, they’d have this plastered all over their front page. Accompanied with stories about the Globe’s bias on all of this.
As a matter of fact, the Herald should do this on a daily basis with the Globe. If they want to compete, they should be pointing out the journalistic dishonesty and conflicts of interest that are printed in the Globe.
But, they seem to be scared. Apparently it takes a blind blogger and the BBC to expose the greed and complete disregard for fans that Henry has.
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