European football bosses have rejected fears they will schedule Champions League fixtures at weekends as โcomplete nonsenseโ.
President Aleksander Ceferin has insisted Uefa will not seek to stage European club football at weekends, pledging to protect the game at all levels.
La Liga president Javier Tebas recently claimed Uefa wants to shift Champions League matches from midweek to weekends and introduce promotion and relegation in the top-tier European contest.
Ceferin revealed that Europeโs governing body is close to finalising plans for a tournament revamp to launch post 2024, but insisted Uefa will resist changes that could usher in a continental super league.
โWe havenโt discussed weekends, just to clear that up once and for all,โ Ceferin told Press Association Sport.
โTo be honest, we are the governing body, we have to take care of everything.
โSome leagues donโt understand it, they care about themselves only.
โThen the chairman of the Spanish league comes out and speaks complete nonsense that we will play on weekends, launch a super league and that we will do this and do that.
โWe are talking about the future of football.
โI cannot go into much detail now, but thereโs an idea of having more stability while at the same time more inclusion. The idea is that more clubs would play from Europe.โ
Former lawyer Ceferin insisted Uefa only wants to fine-tune the Champions League, and urged all the member leagues to push for changes that can offer benefits across the board.
โWe havenโt discussed weekends, do we need that? We have a fantastic environment,โ said Ceferin.
โI know many clubs want it. Many clubs want it to happen.
โBut here we will all have to step back a bit and see what is in the common interest in developing football.
โIf we played Champions League play-offs during the weekend we could get much more revenue, but at the same time that does damage elsewhere.
โOur role as a governing body is to develop football and also to protect it.
โI cannot say the Premier League, for example, is not my problem.
โThe Spanish league boss says Uefa is our competitor. When you say that, you have a problem.
โThis is football, we are the governing body of European football, and we have to care about the Premier League, the Slovenian league, the Bulgarian league, the Italian league.
โThe ideas are not finalised yet, because we need further discussion with stakeholders. We have an idea, but we are seeking feedback.
โThereโs room for improvement if we will be clever, all of us.โ