Michael van Praag, member of the UEFA executive committee, does not have a good word for the role of fellow board member Andrea Agnelli in the creation of the Super League. Via a tweet, Van Praag lashes out at Agnelli, who is one of the new vice-presidents within the organizational structure of the new tournament.
“Well, my last UEFA board meeting was a special one,” writes Van Praag, who retired as a board member at the Montreux meeting. “My fellow board member Agnelli, who of course was not there, exposes himself as an ordinary liar, cheater and traitor. This third break-away attempt has gone really scandalous regardless of the content.” On Monday, Agnelli was already called a ‘snake’ by UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin: he had never seen someone who ‘so often and so incessantly’ lies.
Well my last uefa board meeting was a special one. My fellow board member Agnelli, who of course was not there, exposes himself as an ordinary liar, cheater and traitor. This third break away attempt has gone really scandalous regardless of the content.
– Michael van Praag (@MichaelvanPraag) April 19, 2021
Agnelli has been appointed as one of the Super League Vice Presidents. The current president of Juventus, like Van Praag, is part of the executive committee of UEFA and is also the leader of the European Club Association, the body that represents the European club teams. Ceferin and Agnelli were good friends; the UEFA preses became godfather to the then six-month-old daughter of Agnelli in 2019. They seemed to be allies, but their ways now explicitly part.
“Our meeting was calm and collected,” said Van Praag in conversation with earlier on Monday de Volkskrant. “Everyone in the meeting spoke shame about the developments, but UEFA will first look at the options calmly. An extra meeting has been called for Friday.” Van Praag is no longer present. His successor as KNVB chairman, Just Spee, will probably be elected to the UEFA board on Tuesday and will then attend the meeting.