The president of LaLiga, Javier Tebas, is convinced that the Spanish football season is coming to an end and he calculated the economic damage that 25% of the income from audiovisual rights would entail if he could not finish the championship due to the coronavirus epidemic.
“I have been working through telephone conversations and videoconferences throughout the weekend with European institutions, presidents of Spanish clubs, because we have to coordinate and a very important week is coming,” he said in statements to the COPE network's Tiempo de Juego program.
Regarding the league championship and the possibility that it would have to be resolved in a “play off”, he stated: “What we are handling now is that we are going to end the competition. This week important decisions can be made in Europe.”
“I have had contacts with Italy, Germany and other league presidents. We are working on providing a solution because the coronavirus is a health issue and for health there are the doctors, we are here to provide a solution to the economic problem that is going to arise. , What about the nearly one hundred audiovisual contracts we have around the world. If you do not retransmit the signal you will not be able to collect, that is clear “, he explained.
Thebes noted that he is working with other leagues “to square the calendars”, but he was convinced that the season could be ended.
As for LaLiga staff, they revealed that they have had two positive cases of coronavirus, although he is not affected: “I am not in quarantine. I have no symptoms and I have not been tested. We already had an action plan for weeks and we have applied it. 95 percent in LaLiga are already teleworking. In Spain we have more than 400 people working and we have had to repatriate people we have around the world. “
“We have 25 percent of the season to play and the entire budget will have to be reviewed, that is the damage that can occur if the competition is not finished,” he reiterated.