There is match-fixing in La Liga, claims LFP vice-president

The LFP vice-president has voiced his opinion that match-fixing has spread to the Spanish top flight, while he refuses to blame the schedule for low attendance figures

Javier Tebas, vice-president of the Liga de Futbol Profesional (LFP), believes that there is match-fixing in La Liga, and fears that a similar scandal to the Scommessopoli controversy that has rocked Italian football could be on the cards.

Tebas has little doubt that the results of certain games have been fixed, but has admitted that he has no evidence to back his claims.

"Games are being sold in La Liga and the cheaters must be exposed," the LFP vice-president told Onda Cero in an interview.

"Unfortunately, I cannot prove it, but games are being fixed in Spain. I cannot rule out a similar scandal to the ones in Italy."

Tebas also had his say on the low attendance figures in Spain, and blamed the country's financial crisis for the lack of crowds.

"The low attendances do not have anything to do with the schedule," he said. 

"It's the logical result of the economic crisis. And numbers have dropped by only 3.5 per cent."

Ernesto Valverde, the coach of Valencia, showed resigned after the defeat suffered by his team at the Santiago Bernabeu by two goals to nil in the first leg of the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey.

“On the refereeing errors I can not comment because I don’t know them. On television it is easier and we have to get into the skin of the referee. Referees are wrong for one side or another. This time, as I discussed, they were wrong against us”, said the technician on the arbitration proceedings.

Valverde said that “maybe it hurts a little more when you see it on TV. We are not aware of these errors in the field. The only thing with which I prefer is that we are losing two to zero. Today we should have marked here a goal or more. We have had occasions and that is what hurts me. We cannot control the theme of the referee”.

About his expulsion in minute 73, after the second goal from Real Madrid, he noted that “I don’t protest much. He had requested change, we had an injured player and the move entailed some risk. At the end we did not change and the move made us goal. Why I was the head and I protested the fourth referee and the umpire threw me”.

Then, the Arbitration Act picked up that the technician “was ejected for angrily protesting a decision by lifting the arms and throwing gloves at the height of the feet of the fourth referee”.

“You can play well but there will be defined and we have not been successful at times and we have been lacking nerve to generate more scoring chances. I think the tie is not convicted, carry a very adverse score, but I think the possibilities of my team”, said Valverde on the second leg in Valencia.