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German FA wants Super League clubs banned from all competitions
"The clubs and their youth teams should be banned from all competitions until they think of their many supporters who have made them into top clubs in the world in the first place, and not only of their purses," DFB President Fritz Keller said on the official DFB Twitter account.
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Light up the night: Dortmund fans light firecrackers during a German first division Bundesliga soccer match between Fortuna Duesseldorf and Borussia Dortmund in Duesseldorf, western Germany, on Tuesday. (AFP/Patrik Stollarz)
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he German Football Association (DFB) on Tuesday demanded the suspension of the 12 clubs that announced the creation of a breakaway European Super League from all competitions until they reconsider.
"The clubs and their youth teams should be banned from all competitions until they think of their many supporters who have made them into top clubs in the world in the first place, and not only of their purses," DFB President Fritz Keller said on the official DFB Twitter account.
Twelve of Europe's top clubs launched the breakaway Super League on Sunday, kicking off what is set to be a bitter battle for control of the game and its revenue with European soccer's governing body UEFA and world soccer's FIFA.
"The selfish behaviour of the 12 clubs has no longer anything to do with the game we fell in love with as children," Keller said.
"Football is open and it is there for everyone. A closed Super League on the other hand is only for the super-rich and the super-ruthless," he added.
No club from Germany has signed up to the initiative that has triggered a furore among fans and the wrath of UEFA.
The renegade clubs - six from the English Premier League plus three each from Spain and Italy - will be guaranteed places in the new competition in contrast to the Champions League, which requires teams to qualify via their domestic leagues.
US investment bank JP Morgan is financing the new league, providing a 3.5 billion euro ($4.2 billion) grant to the founding clubs to spend on infrastructure and recovery from the impact of the pandemic.
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has said he will not comment on the proposed new European Super League, spearheaded by club president Florentino Perez.
Speaking ahead of Wednesday's trip to Cadiz in La Liga, Zidane batted away questions about the breakaway - despite the club being one of the 12 founding members for the competition.
"That's a question for one person, the president," he told a news conference on Tuesday.
"I'm here for the game. Everyone has their opinion but I'm not here to talk about that. I'll talk about the game tomorrow, the league, the Champions League - the rest isn't my job.
"You can say I'm sitting on the fence, and that's fine. Because what I like doing is coach, that's it."
The Frenchman also said the dressing room had not been talking about any proposed UEFA sanctions, such as elimination from this season's Champions League, as punishment.
"We don't talk about that kind of stuff in the changing room. We're just focused on the next game," he added.
A disappointing goalless draw with Getafe at the weekend means Real's hopes of retaining La Liga are no longer in their own hands - they sit three points behind table toppers Atletico Madrid.
However, Zidane insisted they will not throw in the towel on the season.
"It's been a season of eight months and all sorts have happened," he said.
"There's been talk of me being fired, the players not being worth anything, and that's never the case. The important thing is that we're in the mix, we're competing and that's what we like."
Zidane did confirm that defenders Raphael Varane and Dani Carvajal will travel with the squad. However, Eden Hazard, Sergio Ramos and Federico Valverde all remain absent.
