La Liga Title Race: Ahead of the El Clasico this weekend and amid the Barcelona Referee Scandal, the La Liga President, Javier Tebas has come out and said that he is a Madridista. This is not the first time that Tebas has expressed his support for Real Madrid. However, ahead of the Barcelona Refree Scandal and the political instability between Catalans and the Spanish government, this statement brings on some new controversies. Follow La Liga LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN.
Real Madrid is currently sitting at the second position in the La Liga table with a 9-point gap from first-placed Barcelona. If they are to win the league, they will have to win the coming El Clasico. If they lose this match, the point gap will increase to 12 and their dreams of winning the league this year will get further away.
When asked about the La Liga title race, Javier Tebas very recently said, “Is La Liga over? I am a Madridista. Real Madrid have already made league comebacks with 7-8 points behind, there are still a lot of La Liga games left… Imagine Madrid winning El Clasico, they would be very close.”
This wasn’t the first time he admitted his love for the club. Back in 2015, he said during an interview, “If I say I don’t support Madrid, then that would be hypocritical and I would be painted as a liar. And I certainly don’t like to be called a liar. Imagine if I said that I loved all teams, and then it came out that I supported Madrid since I was a boy, went to 27 Clasicos in the past, that I celebrated Madrid wins with friends in a bar. I prefer to call it as it is.”
🗣️ Javier Tebas (La Liga President): “I am a Madridista. Real Madrid have already made league comebacks with 7-8 points behind, there are still a lot of La Liga games left… Imagine Madrid winning El Clasico, they would be very close…”
💭 Why are La Liga clubs ok with this? pic.twitter.com/9sw7cmQ7p5
— Alejandro Balde (@WeAreBalde) March 15, 2023
Barcelona is currently facing accusations that there were transactions of $7.7 million. This was made from the club to the Spanish Referee Committee’s Vice President between 2001 to 2018. As per reports, the club members’ general assembly was unaware of this transaction. Spanish Sports Council President, José Manuel Franco has said that they will join the accusing side against Barcelona during the legal proceedings. Real Madrid along with the Spanish League and the Spanish Football Federation has also come forward to stand against FC Barcelona.
A judge will decide on Sunday whether the accusations will turn to charges against FC Barcelona. In the wake of this, there are some additional factors at work along with Tebas’ statements on his love for Madrid that could be fuelling everything. The sole catalyst could be the Spanish government and Madrid’s political fight against Barcelona.
It has been well known that political and cultural factors feed deep into the games in the country. The feud has been going on for 4 decades. It’s now been ever-growing with Catalans taking to the streets raising pro-split from Spain slogans every year for the last decade.
Going over the history of the nation and this feud, there have been many times that it steeped into football. It is true that there were transactions between Barcelona and the referee committee’s vice president. However, there has been no proof of malpractice in referee decisions during the time period. No one yet has been able to provide evidence that this money influenced any biased decisions toward Barcelona.
Barcelona President, Joan Laporta commented on the scandal, “Let it be clear Barca have never bought referees and Barca have never had the intention of buying referees, absolutely never. The forcefulness of the facts contradicts those who try to change the story. We are doing well again – nothing is chance.” He added, “There is a campaign to damage Barça’s interests. It is a campaign aimed at controlling the club. La Liga does not accept that Barça did not sign the contract with CVC.”
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | PTS | Form | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
25 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 47 | 8 | +39 | 65 | W W L W W | |
| 2 |  |
25 | 17 | 5 | 3 | 50 | 19 | +31 | 56 | W D D W W | |
| 3 |  |
25 | 14 | 6 | 5 | 39 | 19 | +20 | 48 | W W D W W | |
| 4 |  |
25 | 13 | 6 | 6 | 33 | 24 | +9 | 45 | D D L D W | |
| 5 |  |
25 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 33 | 26 | +7 | 42 | D D W W W |
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