La Liga President Javier Tebas fires back at Hansi Flick and Real Madrid – ‘I won’t be sanctioned’ | OneFootball

La Liga President Javier Tebas was not concerned by the prospect of a potential of a suspension from his post following a complaint submitted by Real Madrid about a breach of confidentiality. He also had characteristically strong responses on Hansi Flick’s complaints about scheduling and the decision to maintain Dani Olmo and Pau Victor registered this season.

Los Blancos have filed a complaint with the Administrative Tribunal for Sport (TAD), with former head of the High Committee for Sport Miguel Angel Galan claiming there is a strong chance he is suspended if Tebas is found guilty by TAD. However Tebas was unconcerned by the prospect, as Football España heard at a La Liga event.

“No, I’m not worried about it. I don’t think I’ll be sanctioned. I’m more worried about the form in which complaints are brought to the TAD. With faulty minutes from meetings, and other such things,” hinting at malcontent with the institution itself.

Image via Thilo Schmuelgen / Diario AS

Meanwhile on the other side of Spanish football’s divide, Barcelona manager Hansi Flick called La Liga’s scheduling ‘a joke’ and said that he wanted to discuss the reasons why his team had been given less time to prepare for the Champions League game. Something Tebas was open to doing.

“There’s no discriminatory policy. We manage a competition, not the interests of one club or another. With this accumulation of matches, some squads may be more tired. Although we must remind Flick, who has been very harsh, to complain to UEFA. Why are the national leagues always to blame? Why doesn’t he complain to UEFA? Why do UEFA not put both games on a Wednesday. We have to defend the 20 clubs in the First Division and 22 in the Second Division. We have to do what’s best for everyone. There’s another competition organised by UEFA, and they can ask. We’re willing to explain whatever they want, to give them reasons, show how the schedules are set if they want.”

Tebas said it was up to Barcelona to decide whether they would return to their salary limit this summer, and noted that the decision to remove their VIP seats lease from their accounts was the decision of the auditor, not the league. La Liga have also strongly opposed Barcelona when it comes to the registration case of Olmo and Victor, appealing the decision of the CSD to the Court of Contentious Decisions.

“It’s based on a new fact: the licenses weren’t canceled. According to the CSD, the licenses continued. Therefore, according to the CSD, Di Stefano is still on license with Real Madrid.”

He also admitted that he was worried about the state of revenues from TV rights, again citing piracy as an issue La Liga must clamp down on.

Image via EFE / Sergio Perez

“Revenue has increased thanks to match day and commercials. Audiovisual revenue is more stagnant. The impact of the Club World Cup and the new Champions League will be felt in the coming seasons. These new formats are causing domestic leagues to suffer. In Italy, the Champions League has earned an additional €100m, and Serie A has lost around €125m in revenue.”

“I’m still worried. We’ve lost some revenue in Southeast Asia. Not just from the Champions League, but also from piracy. UEFA is collecting more, and domestic leagues are losing revenue potential. The Belgian league has lost 20%. I’m worried. In Spain, we still have two years left on our contracts.”