Chelsea chairman warns Uefa not to make big clubs join 'the great unwashed'

Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck has criticised Uefa's attempts to close the gap between top and lower tier clubs, saying Europe's heavyweights should not be "dumbed down" to join "the great unwashed".

Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin has been vocal about his plans to redress inequalities across European football and has previously suggested targeting dominant clubs with a "luxury tax" to gives smaller clubs more of a chance.

However, Buck made clear his position on football hierarchies, saying on Thursday that creating more of a competitive balance in European football would be to its detriment.

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“In terms of competitive balance, which is always viewed in a negative way, I personally believe for the development of football, marquee clubs and marquee players are important," he said, speaking at the Leaders Sport Business Summit at Stamford Bridge.

“It is important in developing a fan base, it is important in encouraging young people to engage in this sport and it also important in terms of the large clubs having the ability to put a lot of money into good causes which they do.

“So I am not, as a general proposition, in favor of dumbing down the large clubs in order to make all clubs the great unwashed. They have done that in the U.S. over the last 20 years and it has been to the detriment particularly of baseball.

“I just don’t think it works for the long-term. Clubs have to seek their natural position in the football order. No matter where you are in that you want to improve but I don’t think we should assume that because every club is not equal that therefore it’s bad.”

Conversely, Ceferin said in May that a small group of clubs having the majority of the wealth in the sport "threatens the competitive balance that is essential to football's appeal".

Uefa's recently launched Nations League format is part of this strategy and, since elected president in September 2016, Ceferin has been keen to address club inequalities.

"We appear to be on the right track with national team football, but the club game still requires our serious attention. I will fight tooth and nail to introduce measures that restore some balance," he said in February.

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"I cannot claim that this will result in a club such as Steaua Bucharest or Red Star Belgrade being the next to have their name engraved on the Champions League trophy. It is my responsibility to be realistic.

"Our competition formats are what make our club competitions the success that they are today. Our efforts should focus more on their financial solidarity mechanisms."

Just nine teams have won the Champions League in the past 20 years, and Ceferin has floated ideas to target these clubs' financial advantage, including the "luxury tax" and limitations to squad sizes to free up quality players for smaller clubs.