A Madrid court has admitted file a complaint joint venture between Real Madrid and Fútbol Club Barcelona against the president of LaLiga, Javier Tebas, for prevent the right of the two clubs to participate in deliberations and voting of the Audiovisual Rights Management Control BodyLaLiga body of which both clubs are part.
In the complaint, to which he has had access THE SPANISH NEWSPAPERfrom the Prensa Ibérica group, both clubs describe that Tebas prevented them from participating in the deliberation and voting on various items on the agenda in three meetings of this body, held in the months of March, April and May 2022.
The reason given by the president of LaLiga for making this decision, which the clubs describe as “unilateral” and “illegitimate”, is an alleged conflict of interest to decide on audiovisual matters of the Spanish competition, given its participation in the European Super League.
The Control Body for the Management of Audiovisual Rights is an internal body of LaLiga aimed at “managing the commercialization and exploitation of audiovisual rights respecting the statutory and regulatory standards”, as reflected in its statutes.
six members
The two clubs with the most audiovisual income in the last five years (Madrid and Barça) are part of it. two clubs from First and one from Second chosen by the rest (Atlético, Osasuna and Ponferradina) and the president of LaLiga, Javier Tebas, who also has the casting vote.
In their complaint, presented by Clifford Chance, the same law firm hired by the Super League, the clubs chaired by Florentino Pérez and Joan Laporta denounce that they were excluded from voting in the meetings of March 1, April 12 and May 19due to this alleged conflict of interest.
One of the arguments of both clubs to consider their veto illegitimate is that Atlético de Madrid also participates in this body, “one of the founding clubs” of the Super League and participant in the Champions League, a competition that “occupies a similar position” to that of the tournament promoted by Madrid and Barça together with Juventus. Atlético participated normally in the three denounced meetings.
From September 2021
As described in the complaint, a meeting of the Control Body was held in September 2021 in which Thebes already raised that conflict of interest, although neither Real Madrid nor Barcelona were excluded from the deliberation and vote on the points included in the agendaparticipating normally.
Between October 2021 and February 2022, the body met four other times, in which the president of LaLiga, supported by legal reports from KPMG and Uría y Menéndezput the conflict of interest on the table again, again without Madrid and Barça seeing their rights as members of it restricted.
Everything changes in the meeting of March 1, held electronically, and in which the body was going to decide on the commercialization of secondary television lots in Spain (bars, open matches, Second Division) and on the opening of the sales processes of the entire competition in several countries in Asia and Oceania.
the veto
Thebes informed the representatives of Real Madrid and Barça that they had to leave the room for deliberation and voting on three items on the agenda, given that in them “There are strategic and very important data in the audiovisual field that obviously serve as information for the topic of the Super League”. “There is a clear conflict of interest since they are competitions that are very clearly competitive between one and the other and here information is being given that obviously serves to create that Super League in that mercantile company,” argued the executive.
The two clubs refused to leave the meeting and did not, but could not participate in the deliberation and participation of those three points. As stated in the complaint, the RFEFwho has a voice but no vote in that body (just like the CSD), disagrees with the existence of the conflict of interest wielded by Thebes.
Its general secretary, Andreu Camps, described the decision of the president of LaLiga as “outrageous”, in a subsequent meeting, held on April 12, 2022, in which the representatives of Madrid and Barça were expelled from the Zoom video call that hosted the conclave during two of the items on the agenda. The same thing happened at the meeting held on May 19, according to the claimant clubs.
A day later, Real Madrid and Barcelona presented the joint complaint that has now been admitted for processing by a court of first instance in Madrid, on the understanding that their “fundamental right of association” has been violated, also requesting the “challenging of agreements” taken at such meetings without your vote.
.jpg?fit=300%2C300&ssl=1)
