LaLiga looking at dates towards end of June for possible restart

Spanish league president Javier Tebas said that the 2019/20 domestic season will not have to be cancelled and will be played out, although it will be a delayed finish. Tebas said that La Liga is working in conjecture with the European football governing body for a possible date to restart the league.

New Delhi, April 7 Spanish league president Javier Tebas said that the 2019/20 domestic season will not have to be cancelled and will be played out, although it will be a delayed finish. Tebas said that La Liga is working in conjecture with the European football governing body for a possible date to restart the league.

Tebas said that it is important to keep UEFA in the loop so that it can be ensured that all European leagues can successfully finish and the continental Champions League and Europa League competitions as well.

"Well in the current scenario we have dates that we are talking to UEFA with because it is very important to coordinate with them. They are putting in a lot of effort to allow all the leagues to finish," Tebas said.

Tebas said that the league is looking at "May 29, or even June 6 or it could even go to June 28" as potential restart dates for the league that has been suspended due to the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic in Spain.

"We will have to look at other scenarios when they come along, especially what happens this month. We are not just following what is happening in Spain but also what is happening in 11 other countries for when they carry out European competitions too."

Tebas also said that they are considering scenarios where as little change as possible is required to be made to next year's calendar. He however said that they will restart the league if and when they get UEFA's nod, regardless of whether other countries are able to do the same or not.

"This approach has got to be based on logic. Any league, if they can start to play, I think they should start to play. They should finish their competitions as and when possible," he said.

Tebas also said that while there will be long term implications for the financial health of LaLiga emanating from the current crisis, it is not as bad as what was recently reported in the German Bundesliga where 13 of 36 teams face insolvency issues.

"With regards to the financial state of the clubs, they are all different but I think they are all in quite good financial situations. Real Madrid and Barcelona have got more than Euro 1200 million in equities. So I am sure we can support (smaller clubs) during a crisis by organising ourselves financially," said Tebas.

"We want to ensure as little losses as possible. We are working with all the clubs on these issues but I think we have got good financial situations. However the damage will be such that it will take a few years to get back to the current situations which is a reality we have to face."

Tebas also warned against any relaxation of UEFA's Financial Fair Play rules in the face of the crisis saying that countries could end up losing control of clubs if they are all owned by other states, as is the case in the French league where Paris St Germain are owned by Qatar through its shareholding organisation Qatar Sports Investments (QSI).

The European Club Association (ECA) had said recently that the rules could be relaxed to deal with the financial problems clubs are facing due to the lack of matches.

Tebas expressed his opposition to such a proposal, however, citing the fact that Spanish clubs are owed 350 million euros in transfer fees, due to be paid by Sep 30.

"It's important these obligations are met, because if these European clubs don't pay Spanish clubs the Spanish clubs may not be able to pay other European clubs," Tebas pointed.

"That's why it's important for the regulations to continue as they are and no-one tries to make the most of the circumstances and not pay."

( With inputs from IANS )