Dane Anders Horsholt spoke up on the trending discussion as fear rise over the future of teams from Scotland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway and Sweden in the Champions League.
Daily Record Sport in February exclusively announced that Celtic chief executive, Peter Lawwell has had a vital discussion with Ajax among other outfits in an attempt to fight the proposals of Europe’s elite clubs, who are attempting to drive through an invitation-only version of the European competition.
Rangers have made known their concerns of being frozen out of the Champions League by a continental cartel – describing their situation by seeing themselves as being blocked from entering the casino and having to stand outside, watching everyone else make countless millions inside. With some big clubs outside of the big money pots, you can rest assured that something will change in the near future.
Horsholt remains adamant that the Atlantic League will see the likes of Celtic and Rangers quit the SPFL for this new venture. It is not yet clear if other Scottish clubs such as Aberdeen and Hearts are involved, though reports from Denmark say there will be 12 to 16 teams in a league drawn from six countries.
During an interview with Danish newspaper BT, Horsholt said: “Yes it is true. If we do not react and voice out now, we will only be looking at the biggest clubs growing larger and stronger while it will be difficult for clubs like us to meet up.
“We must therefore look at which alternative international opportunities for Rangers, FC Copenhagen and others in the future. At this moment, it is still too early to discuss specific models, but the discussion of leagues across European borders is a theme that we look at and actively participates in.”
Claims that Europe’s biggest clubs are looking forward to squeezing out the smaller nations exist, and with the current Champions League deal set to expire in 2021, Horsholt insists the football clubs in countries that are categorized as only medium-sized in European scale have to find an alternative.
