BARCELONA: UEFA proposals to change part of the Champions League format would be “catastrophic” for soccer but FIFA plans to overhaul the Club World Cup will be a boon for the sport, La Liga president Javier Tebas told Reuters on Thursday.
Tebas lashed out at changes he said Europe’s governing body is considering making to the Champions League, saying they would damage domestic competitions.
Accusing UEFA and the European Club Association (ECA) of plotting in secret, Tebas said the body wanted to play European games on weekends rather than in mid-week and expand the group stage to have four groups of eight teams, rather than the current format of eight groups of four sides.
“UEFA and the ECA are negotiating behind closed doors so that the others don’t know about the reforms which put national leagues in danger,” said in an exclusive interview.
“They are making reforms to the Champions League which are very dangerous for football. It’s a model which is very damaging for national leagues and also for them, as they don’t understand business.”
UEFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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