UEFA Official Expects Real Madrid, Man City, Chelsea to Be Expelled from UCL Semifinals

A UEFA executive committee member said he expects the clubs to be kicked out of the Champions League over their pledge to join the Super League.

UEFA executive committee member Jesper Moller said that he expects potential Super League clubs Real Madrid, Manchester City and Chelsea to be kicked out of this month's UEFA Champions League semifinals, according to Danish outlet DR. 

"The clubs must go, and I expect that to happen on Friday," Moller said on Monday. "Then we have to find out how to finish [this season's] Champions League tournament. There is an extraordinary executive committee meeting on Friday."

Moller, the chairman of the Danish FA, made the comments as the soccer world continued to react to Sunday's bombshell announcement of a proposed European Super League that would reportedly begin in 2022. 

Real Madrid, Manchester City and Chelsea are three of the Super League's 12 founding members, which also includes Barcelona, Manchester United and Juventus, among others. The same reasoning could also be applied to the Europa League semifinals, in which Super League–committed Manchester United and Arsenal are set to participate.

A potential ban would leave Paris Saint-Germain as the only non–Super League club in this season's Champions League semifinals. PSG is scheduled to face Manchester City in the first leg of the semifinals on April 28 while Real Madrid and Chelsea are supposed to meet on April 27. 

Moller also said that if the ban is put into effect, players at the banished clubs could be released from their contracts and permitted to sign with teams who have not pledged to join the Super League. 

"I believe that the contracts automatically lapse when the clubs opt out [of UEFA tournaments]," Moller said. "Then the players are free and can choose to play for a club that is part of the solidarity and community—our pyramid system."

UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin said UEFA is looking into banning players and clubs from forthcoming competitions, which includes Champions League, Europa League and, on an international level, this summer's European championships.