Charlie Austin has called for this Sunday's Carabao Cup final between Tottenham and Manchester City to be voided following the announcement of the European Super League.

What did Austin say?

The European Super League was formally announced on Sunday evening, with Spurs and City listed as two of the 12 founding members. Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal are the other four Premier League teams who have agreed to take part in the breakaway competition.

Austin's reaction has been one of fury, and the 31-year-old has called for all of the teams involved to be relegated, whilst also proposing that this weekend's cup final does not take place.

Writing on Twitter, Austin said: "Football as we know it in this country is going to be smashed to pieces! These 6 clubs are a shambles and just proves this game is all about money to them! Void the league cup final Sunday!! Dock them all points and relegate them! No longer the working mans game!!!!!"

Charlie Austin tweets about European Super League

What is the European Super League?

It is a competition that has been put together by 12 clubs - six from England, and three apiece from Spain and Italy. The Spanish sides involved are Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, whilst the Italian teams are Juventus, Inter Milan and AC Milan.

The idea is for the league to be played in midweek, and would eventually include 20 teams, 15 of which would be considered the founding clubs.

It is due to start "as soon as practicable."

Why are Spurs in it?

That's a good question. After all, Spurs are only seventh in the Premier League at the moment, and have not won any silverware since 2008.

However, they are still considered one of the 'big six', having reached the Champions League final in 2019, and finished runners-up in the Premier League two years earlier.

It seems that these achievements have held them in good stead when coming to the negotiating table for the Super League, and they have managed to secure their place in the competition.

How have others reacted?

The general response to the Super League has been negative. Prime Minister Boris Johnson labelled the proposal as "very damaging" for football, and UEFA look set to take a similar stance to Austin in terms of punishments for the clubs at the heart of the controversy.

The governing body released a statement via Goal on Sunday, saying: "As previously announced by FIFA and the six Federations, the clubs concerned will be banned from playing in any other competition at domestic, European or world level, and their players could be denied the opportunity to represent their national teams."

Does Austin have a point?

It seems pretty clear that football at the highest level would change dramatically if the Super League goes ahead.

The proposal was widely criticised on Sunday afternoon when rumours were rife that an announcement was imminent. Yet the founding clubs did not appear to be fazed by this, and still made their intentions clear later in the evening.

If this is to be stopped, then drastic action seems to be necessary. This could well mean threatening to deduct points, hitting clubs with major fines, and relegating teams.

Putting in place such measures may be the only way to stop the Super League from taking place.