Ally McCoist has slammed the rule that means Barcelona, Juventus and Atletico Madrid can play in the Europa League, having finished third in their Champions League groups.
The trio will drop down into Europe's second-tier competition for the knockout stages, having failed to qualify for the last 16. The three teams have won just three games combined so far in the group stages, with just one round of action remaining.
They have already been condemned to playing in the Europa League at best for the rest of the campaign, with Barca having gone through the same situation last term. The three 'super-clubs' will join the likes of Arsenal, Real Betis, Freiburg and Fenerbahce in the last 32 play-offs if they finish third in their groups.
And McCoist has been left furious that Barca, Juve and Atletico have been given a reprieve to compete in Europe. He slammed the rule that allows them to drop down as a "scandal" and called for them to be dumped out of Europe altogether.
"We are talking about Atletico Madrid out the competition, Juventus out the competition, Barcelona out the competition. And I'll leave you with this thought, all three of them have dropped into the Europa League," McCoist told talkSPORT.
"That's a scandal. They should be out the tournament, out of Europe, it's just a protection for money-making big clubs. Rubbish. It's an absolutely rubbish rule."
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Juve and Barca are continuing to push to create a European Super League, despite five of the 12 original teams having failed to qualify for the Champions League knockout stages. The La Liga giants were put out of the running before they even kicked a ball in the penultimate round.
Inter Milan's win over Viktoria Plezn meant it was impossible for them to overtake the Serie A side despite having two games still to play. They went on to lose that penultimate game 3-0 to Bayern Munich, with boss Xavi left apologetic.
"It is our reality now. We have to disconnect from the Champions League and face other competitions. The elimination has affected us psychologically. There were many expectations, it was our turn a complicated group," he said.
"Everything has happened to us. It has been very cruel. Today we have not competed well. We know that everything has happened to us, all possible situations. I understand that from the outside there is talk of failure, but inside we do another analysis.
"Failure is for those who do not try. We have not been up to the task. The main thing is mistakes ours, who have not been at the level due to effectiveness or errors. The way you leave the competition, waiting for a game, is also cruel. We leave with a bad feeling.
"If we analyse the other games, I think we deserved more. We are out due to our mistakes. But we have to continue. We have to react. This does not end here. It depended on us and we did not we've achieved. It's a disappointment. We have to rebuild. We're in a team under construction."
