The proposed European Super League is a betrayal of Prince Philip’s “selfless” legacy, insists Ian Holloway.
Six Premier League sides - Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham - are part of an initial group of 12 clubs seeking to establish a new 20-team continental competition "as soon as practicable".
The news has been met with widespread condemnation, including from down the English football pyramid, with the EFL describing the plan as an attack on "open and fair competition" and insists a strong pyramid is fundamental to football's success.
Word of the Super League leaked hours after Prince Philip was laid to rest, and confirmed shortly afterwards, leaving Holloway reflecting on the Duke of Edinburgh's legacy and his own Britishness.
Asked on talkSPORT for his initial reaction to the Super League, Holloway said: "One of pure disgust, I have to say.
"Talk about sadness, I don’t know about you, but I spent time watching the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral at the weekend and for the first time in a long time I was really proud to be British and this morning that’s just gone away.
"That man was so selfless in his life and I wanted us to come out of this pandemic caring about other people more than ourselves and the opposite is happening.
"I am totally outraged, absolutely disgusted in how selfish some people can be the game belongs to supporters not them and I’ve never seen anything like it.”
He continued: "Action needs to be taken. It’s not good enough to just say ‘you can’t do it’. It’s not strong enough, they should be relieved of their positions, stripped of their clubs.
"The biggest worry is, if you’re getting £3billion a year and not getting relegated, you’re going to want to do it.
"But what is football actually about? It’s about believing you can be better and catch the people who are the best. That’s what football is all about.
"Life’s about trying to get somewhere, not about someone telling you that you can’t get there. It’s doesn’t make sense."
