ROME — Europe was in a disaster mind-set Monday, only it was about soccer. Politicians were issuing emergency statements. Social media was exploding. At least four tabloids across the continent, in massive headlines, referred to "war." Another, somewhat more modestly, described a "criminal act."
In a late-night announcement, 12 of Europe’s most famous clubs said they were banding together and breaking away to form a continent-wide Super League. In a part of the world that has dealt with all sorts of turbulence over the past year — overloaded hospitals and deep recession and repetitive lockdowns — this was a development that pushed the crisis mode into totally new terrain.