MADRID: LaLiga CEO Javier Tebas says he has resigned from the European Leagues body saying that it does not take its role seriously and has done nothing to fight what he says are the financial abuses of the Premier League and state-backed clubs.
He also said he would be withdrawing LaLiga’s membership of the body.
Speaking to AS in Spain he said “it is an Association that does not have any influence because it does not take it seriously. They have done nothing to fight against Al Khelaïfi and the State Clubs, neither against the abuses of the Premier nor against the Super League.”
Tebas has long been the lead critic in Europe of what he argues is the financial imbalance of the ‘super-financed’ – PSG and Manchester City in particular – that are essentially owned by states or closely tied to national leadership.
He has criticised the Premier League for unbalancing the European playing field with its relaxed attitude to financial fair play.
The European Leagues body represents 40 national league that have over 1,000 playing clubs. Tebas is the professional leagues representative at UEFA.
However, he says his voice is too often a lone voice in campaigning on issues like financial fair play.
In the “European Leagues all are good words, but no deeds. Everyone says they are against the Super League, but the only one who has appeared in the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has been Laliga. In the ten years that I have been with them I have attended 40 meetings and the only CEO that has gone has been me. They send second or third line people (are sent)… To be like this, it is better not to be”, adds Tebas.
“Being there for nothing is wasting time, and that becomes a hindrance. If leaving the European Leagues means leaving the UEFA Executive Committee, then I will do it. I have always said that the important thing is to have the ability to influence, not to be in the places to appear,” concludes Javier Tebas, who confirms that LaLiga, as an institution, will also cease to belong to the Association of European Leagues.
Earlier this week LaLiga issued a damning statement of FIFA’s announcement of the international calendar through to 2026.
“FIFA completely neglects the economic damage these decisions inflict on leagues around the world. Leagues were not consulted about any of the changes presented yesterday, especially about the new annual club competition, of which we were completely unaware, and which seriously affects our competitions,” said the statement.
“These decisions do not take into account the competitive, sporting and economic impact on national leagues, clubs and players, by further cramming an already overloaded schedule…FIFA only takes into account a small group of clubs and players, when in the professional football ecosystem there are many professional leagues, thousands of clubs and players that do not participate in international competitions but are affected. FIFA seems to forget this and only thinks of a few, ignoring the effect on all in professional football.”
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