La Liga win injunction to freeze 50 million euros of beIN assets

La Liga win injunction to freeze 50 million euros of beIN assets

La Liga president Javier Tebas is locked in a feud with PSG president and beIN chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi
La Liga president Javier Tebas is locked in a feud with PSG president and beIN chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi. Photo: PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU / AFP/File
Source: AFP

PAY ATTENTION: Сheck out news that is picked exactly for YOU ➡️ find “Recommended for you” block on the home page and enjoy!

Spain's top football division, La Liga, has taken out a court injunction against the beIN Media Group to freeze 50 million euros ($48.5 million) of their assets after non-payment for television rights.

The dispute is widely seen as the latest salvo in a feud between La Liga's outspoken president Javier Tebas and beIN Group Chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi, who is also the president of Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain.

The two men have been at loggerheads on a range of issues over the past few years.

A Spanish court placed a temporary hold on the 50 million euros pending a full hearing on the case, according to court documents issued on Monday that AFP has seen.

A La Liga spokesperson confirmed the Spanish league had sought legal remedies "to guarantee the payment of the amounts owed from the contracts for international TV rights following non-payment by beIN."

Read also

Italy parliament meets in step towards new government

The media group broadcasts La Liga football across three continents and in 35 countries, including France, Hong Kong and New Zealand, paying La Liga an estimated 1.5 billion euros over the past five years.

PAY ATTENTION: Enjoy reading our stories? Join YEN.com.gh's Telegram channel for more!

"BeIN is one of the leading media groups in world sport and entertainment. Our reputation is founded on decades of significant investment, best-in-class broadcasting, long-term and trusted relationships with rights-holders, and a track record of payment," a beIN Media Group spokesperson told AFP.

"We will not discuss publicly the private discussions we’ve been having with La Liga, or any rights-holder for that matter, regarding specific contracts. That is not how business should be conducted, certainly not by professional and dignified institutions.

"If we ran our operations reacting to certain executives' comments on others within the sports industry, we wouldn't be in business."

Read also

Chad ruler raises hackles with drawn-out 'transition'

Al-Khelaifi has become an increasingly powerful presence in the world of football as president of the European Club Association (ECA). Both he and Tebas are on UEFA's Executive Committee.

Tebas condemned PSG and Premier League side Manchester City in June this year for violating Financial Fair Play rules, and has often railed against "state-owned" clubs for "financial doping". PSG are owned by a Qatari investment fund.

La Liga protested against PSG signing Kylian Mbappe to a new contract in the summer, with the player turning down Real Madrid, by filing a complaint against them in a French court.

At the time, Tebas described the new Mbappe deal as "an insult to football".

At a La Liga event in May, Tebas attacked Al-Khelaifi for having too many conflicts of interest given his multiple positions in football.

"He wears a lot of hats, there's too many conflicts of interest and this cannot be," said Tebas.

Read also

The coups, the Judge and 'The Trial': Burkinabe bar pokes fun at chaos

"It can't happen in football in 2022. A leading actor like him cannot be in these organisations and preside over a TV channel that buys (the rights to) La Liga, the Champions League, (and) internationals."

New feature: Сheck out news that is picked for YOU ➡️ find “Recommended for you” block on the home page and enjoy!

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.