KEIR RADNEDGE in PRAGUE: Javier Tebas, combative president of the Spanish league, is not having his own way everywhere – despite having won a stand-off over the sale of domestic TV rights with federation head Angel Maria Villar.

Tebas and the clubs of the top two divisions will undertake centralised marketing from 2016-17 after Villar, vice-president of both FIFA and UEFA, was forced to scrap a threat to cancel matches.

Now Tebas wants to take on FIFA at the Court of Arbitration for Sport over switching the 2022 World Cup finals to winter and is attacking both FIFA and UEFA over the banning of third party ownership.

Gianni Infantino, general secretary of the European federation, has no sympathy for Tebas over the 2022.

Speaking after a UEFA executive committee meeting in Prague, Infantino said: “Even the European Professional Football Leagues organisation has agreed to the new dates for Qatar.

“We need to take a little bit of heat out of this whole discussion. We need to be a little more realistic and reasonable and pragmatic. We don’t need to take ourselves too seriously in certain things.

“The World Cup has to be played if possible in the best cond. If this means that for one year in 150 years of football we change the calendar it would not be the end of the world.

“Of course it’s not ideal but UEFA has agreed to this, the associations are happy with it, the vast majority of the leagues are happy with it, the European Club Association including the Spanish clubs are happy with it.

“It’s a bit sad that people dont accept decisions taken by a vast majority. You need to be flexible for the good of football.”

Next irritant on which Infantino sought to put Tebas right was over the third-party ownership of players which he is contesting.

Infantino said: “The UEFA position is clear, we are against TPO. It might be sold as a short term solution for some clubs but they are then bound to investors who bring a lot of conditions which make it impossible for a club to be run effectively. Big amounts of money go out of football.

“Also, the whole of Europe agrees and is behind UEFA on this and UEFA s behind FIFA on this. They have banned TPO. The decision has been taken.

“Besides the integrity question you need to look at moral and ethical questions. You are trading not with buttons but human beings.”

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