Javier Tebas: "In LaLiga's opinion, FIFA has no moral authority"

Javier Tebas, president of LaLiga, headed the organisation's delegation to Brussels this Tuesday in order to participate in the debate on "Europe and Third-Party Ownership (TPO)", organized by the European Parliament's Sports Intergroup, which is co- chaired by Santiago Fisas, MEP of Spain's Partido Popular.

LaLiga continued its struggle to defend its rights, as well as the business model and values ​​of Spanish football, in a debate in which representatives of UEFA, FIFA, EPFL, ECA, FIFPro, Doyen and O'Porto FC were present. In the European Parliament, Javier Tebas put forward the position of Spanish clubs regarding the FIFA decision to ban third party participation by investment funds in the economic rights of footballers, known as TPO ("Third Party Ownership").

"LaLiga, the Portuguese League and many other European leagues that fear FIFA sanctions, are in favor of regulating TPO financing. We are talking about an industry that, just in Spain, generates 0.65% of the GDP. It is not right that such important financial decisions be made in a private Swiss institutions such as FIFA: Is FIFA entitled to make this decision? Today, I am in a state of shock that personnel from FIFA and UEFA are lecturing me on ethics. They are not competent to talk about ethics. In LaLiga's opinion, FIFA has no moral authority," stated Javier Tebas.

The leader of Spain's club owners' association highlighted that the financial control established by LaLiga is one of the main factors that ensures that the participation of investment funds will not contribute to an increase in debt for clubs. "At LaLiga, we have financial control mechanisms in place to eliminate debt. I can assure you that Spanish clubs will not incur debts in the event that TPO were allowed, because there is a regulation against that. If this issue is regulated, there will be legal certainty. If there is legal certainty, there will be many more investment funds and, therefore, a more competitive market and less unfair terms," President Tebas explained.

The debate was motivated by the need to legalise investment funds to allow smaller league clubs to be competitive when looking to sign the best players: "It is a strategic issue for Spanish football. What we are asking is that we may make use of the financial market to retain our talent. If our clubs do not increase revenue, they will be unable to attract talent and unable to compete," Tebas concluded.