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A blindside hit, a history of violence and a league-wide crackdown on rough play earned Phoenix Coyotes forward Raffi Torres one of the longest suspensions in NHL history.

Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/spanish-league-challenge-government-over-radio-access-115549346--sector.html

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MADRID, Spain — Although it boasts some of the world’s biggest stars in Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, Spanish football’s debt crisis has put the league on course for economic ruin.

Both Barcelona and Madrid have reached the Champions League semifinals, and could meet in the final on May 19 in Munich. Spanish league rivals Atletico Madrid, Valencia and Athletic Bilbao are in the Europa League semifinals.

But the reality of their finances — much like the rest of the struggling country’s economy — do not look as promising as their chances to win more European titles.

According to recent government assessments, clubs in the top two divisions owe C752 million ($988 million) in unpaid taxes — a spike of C150 million ($195 million) over the past four years. The top division alone holds a combined debt of C3.53 billion ($4.61 billion) through the 2010-11 season, with six of the teams in bankruptcy protection with payments due by June 30.

“Everything that is happening is based on the real economy,” University of Barcelona economics and finance professor Jose Maria Gay told The Associated Press. “Spanish football is authentically marvelous right now, you have to tip your hat to it.

“But the trees are shielding us from the very real state of the forest. Many clubs are living dangerously.”

Spanish football’s economic worries mirror the state’s problems, with the country’s flagging economy heading into another recession and in danger of following Greece, Portugal and Ireland in need of a bailout.

Real Madrid, which leads the Spanish league by four points, has debts of C589 million ($773 million), while Barcelona’s stands at C578 million ($756 million) and Atletico’s is C514 million ($675 million). Valencia has sold star players like David Villa, David Silva and Juan Mata to drop its own debt to C382 million ($500 million).

Those numbers eclipse the record revenue of C479 million ($630 million) taken in by Madrid — the world’s richest club — in 2010-11 or the C450 million ($590 million) accumulated by Barcelona.

Spanish sports secretary Miguel Cardenal said clubs would get no special treatment when it came to paying the back taxes, but acknowledged it was “impossible” to expect full payment by June. So far, the sports ministry plans to have a solution “within a reasonable period of time.”

“Considering the context of the situation our country is facing, it’s unreasonable to start introducing dysfunctional steps into the championship that could affect it’s image, which has a commercial value,” Cardenal said in an email to The Associated Press.

The government cannot demand payment without crippling clubs and leaving supporters very upset, according to Gay. And no government wants to take such blame at a time when Spanish football has provided a healthy distraction to the tough austerity measures being introduced by a new government enduring record unemployment figures of 23 per cent.

“Football on the weekends and three days during the week helps to conceals reality of the problem,” said Gay, who served on the board of Barcelona-based football club Espanyol for nearly two seasons. “In the end, everyone is concentrated on Madrid and Barca, who are the kings of the banquet while the rest live a real uncertain future.”

League spokesman Juan Carlos Santamaria said discussions with the sports ministry were constructive and agreements were being made on how to resolve the debt situation, but did not provide details on the accords except to say “clearly changes need to be made.” Santamaria said a commission created to monitor club’s spending and accounts will help.

“Clubs will control their accounts and their costs so the debts don’t rise because they know that tough measures await,” said Santamaria, mentioning fines, point deductions and relegation as the potential penalties.

But none of those will come into effect for another three years, when UEFA’s financial fair play system takes effect.

Under the UEFA plan, clubs must break even on football-related income and spending, and will be permitted losses of $6.6 million in the first two years, or up to $60 million if a wealthy owner makes a one-off payment to clear debts. Madrid and Barcelona will not be afforded such a luxury because the teams are owned by their club members.

If this principle of “live within your means” is not followed, clubs can be excluded from the Champions League and Europa League.

Gay, who believes Valencia, Athletic Bilbao and Osasuna are the only clubs outside the top two who are certain to survive, laughed when asked if Spanish clubs were en route to meeting this criteria.

“A rescue plan needs to be put into place for football. You have to help them and supervise them, and levy rigorous controls. That’s not being done right now,” Gay said.

While rigorous checks still need to be implemented, nearly all discussions involving the Spanish league’s problems point toward one theme: TV money.

That continues to divide the top two clubs and the rest with Valencia presenting the best example. Valencia’s TV revenues of C42 million ($55 million) are less than the C45 million ($59 million) earned by Premier League club Wigan, which has been battling relegation since it rose to the top division in 2005.

Spain touts itself as the world’s best league on the back of Messi and Ronaldo, Barcelona and Madrid, but its TV licensing doesn’t reflect that as it pulls in just half of the C1.270 billion ($1.66 billion) of the Premier League, and two-thirds of what Italy’s Serie A makes at C915 million ($1.198 billion).

“We have to adapt to the new reality, that the crisis is affecting everybody in life, including now in football,” Mallorca President Jaume Cladera said.

Article source: http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/2012/04/18/economic_ruin_threatens_spanish_football/?utm_source=Soccer%20Lineup%20RSS-Images&utm_medium=feed&utm_content=Economic%20ruin%20threatens%20Spanish%20football%20

Football: Big debts lie behind Spanish football glory
Posted: 12 April 2012 0949 hrs

MADRID: Spanish football may be enjoying one of its most successful eras, powered by Barcelona and Real Madrid’s charge through the Champions League, but the glittering success on the pitch hides a darker story.

As Real and Barca are through to the elite Champions League semi-finals, and three Spanish clubs are into the Europa League last four, a survey of the accounts of the country’s top clubs reveals a tale of crippling debts and tax arrears.

Real Madrid lead Barcelona by four points at the top of La Liga, but the two global superstars also rival each other in the depth of their debts — Real have accumulated 589 million euros ($772 million) to Barcelona’s 578 million euros.

The archrivals’ debts eclipse their revenues, which for 2010-2011 amounted to 479 million euros for Real Madrid and 450 million euros for Barcelona.

Europa League semi-finals Valencia and Atletico Madrid are also both awash with red ink, to the tune of 382 and 514 million euros respectively.

But the latest figure to hit the headlines in Spain is the 752 million euros that Spain’s elite clubs owe to the tax man at a time when more than five million are unemployed and the government is asking citizens for more sacrifices.

The sports ministry announced a plan to ensure that football pays for its own debts. But for the moment it is unclear how they will do so.

Six of the 20 Liga clubs — Rayo Vallecano, Racing Santander, Real Betis, Zaragoza, Granada and Mallorca — are currently in bankruptcy proceedings, as are another six second-division teams.

“That figure alone shows that Spanish football is not well managed financially,” said Barcelona University Professor of Economics Jose Maria Gay de Liebana, who specialises in football.

The analyst compared Spanish football’s debts, which he estimated at 3.5 billion euros in total, to the frenzy of the country’s property market bubble, which imploded in 2008.

“Football is a mirror of the general economy in Spain. For years we have been spending beyond our means, getting deeper and deeper into debt,” he explained.

“For football it’s the same: for years clubs have made colossal and inefficient investments. And as they did not have their own funds to finance these expenses, they went massively into debt.”

A good example of the race to invest, no matter the cost, is Valencia’s “New Mestalla” stadium.

In 2007, in the midst of the property boom, Valencia decided to buy itself a new 70,000-seat stadium — even though it has only 39,000 members.

The 300-million-euro construction cost was supposed to be financed by the sale of the land from its old stadium for some 400 million euros.

Two years later, engulfed by the property market crisis, construction stopped when the club realized it could not find buyers for the old stadium property.

One other factor may have contributed to the accumulation of debts — a lack of financial control by Spanish institutions.

Some blame a lax attitude by the Spanish football league, others the league’s inability to impose tough sporting sanctions.

Until very recently the Spanish professional football league did not have the power to relegate a club in bankruptcy.

Some teams even used the bankruptcy law to their advantage, enjoying legal protection from their creditors while continuing to play football at the highest level.

“I think the new law that came into force in January 2012, which now authorizes the authorities to relegate a club in bankruptcy, will change things a lot,” said sports lawyer Juan de Dios Crespo.

It is unclear, however, if the authorities would risk the public backlash of taking on a football club.

In the 1990s when the footballing authorities threatened to relegate Celta Vigo and Sevilla because of problems with their registration paperwork, they were forced to backpedal under huge pressure from fans.

- AFP/sf

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Article source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_sports/view/1194647/1/.html

MADRID – Spanish football may be enjoying one of its most successful eras, powered by Barcelona and Real Madrid’s charge through the Champions League and the national team’s World Cup triumph.

However, the glittering success on the pitch hides a darker story, with a survey of the accounts of the country’s top football clubs revealing a tale of crippling debts and tax arrears.

Both Real and Barca are through to the elite Champions League semi-finals, with Real sitting four points clear of their archrivals in the Spanish Primera Liga following a 4-1 win over Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.

The two globally renowned clubs also rival each other in the depth of their debts – Real have accumulated 589 million euros (S$973 million) to Barcelona’s 578 million euros.

The debts eclipse their revenues, which for the 2010/2011 season amounted to 479 million euros for Real Madrid and 450 million euros for Barcelona.

Europa League semi-finalists Valencia and Atletico are also awash with red ink, to the tune of 382 million and 514 million euros, respectively.

But the latest figure to hit the headlines in Spain is the 752 million euros that the elite clubs owe to the taxman, at a time when more than five million Spaniards are unemployed and the government is asking citizens for more sacrifices.

The Sports Ministry announced a plan to ensure that football pays its own debts but, for the moment, it is unclear how it will do so.

Six of the 20 Spanish Primera Liga clubs – Rayo Vallecano, Racing Santander, Real Betis, Zaragoza, Granada and Mallorca – are in the midst of bankruptcy proceedings, as are six second-division teams.

Barcelona University professor of economics Jose Maria Gay de Liebana compared Spanish football’s total debts, which he estimated at 3.5 billion euros, to the frenzy of the country’s property-market bubble, which imploded in 2008.

“Football is a mirror of the general economy in Spain. For years, we have been spending beyond our means, getting deeper and deeper into debt,” he said.

“It’s the same for football. For years, clubs have made colossal and inefficient investments. And as they did not have their own funds to finance these expenses, they went massively into debt.”

Article source: http://asiaone.feedsportal.com/c/34151/f/618414/s/1e584928/l/0L0Sasiaone0N0CNews0CLatest0J2BNews0CSports0CStory0CA1Story20A120A4130E339430A0Bhtml/story01.htm

Spanish football may be enjoying one of its most successful eras, powered by Barcelona and Real Madrid‘s charge through the Champions League, but the glittering success on the pitch hides a darker story.

As Real and Barca are through to the elite Champions League semi-finals, and three Spanish clubs are into the Europa League last four, a survey of the accounts of the country’s top clubs reveals a tale of crippling debts and tax arrears.

Real Madrid lead Barcelona by four points at the top of La Liga, but the two global superstars also rival each other in the depth of their debts — Real have accumulated 589 million euros ($772 million) to Barcelona’s 578 million euros.

The archrivals’ debts eclipse their revenues, which for 2010-2011 amounted to 479 million euros for Real Madrid and 450 million euros for Barcelona.

Europa League semi-finals Valencia and Atletico Madrid are also both awash with red ink, to the tune of 382 and 514 million euros respectively.

But the latest figure to hit the headlines in Spain is the 752 million euros that Spain’s elite clubs owe to the tax man at a time when more than five million are unemployed and the government is asking citizens for more sacrifices.

The sports ministry announced a plan to ensure that football pays for its own debts. But for the moment it is unclear how they will do so.

Six of the 20 Liga clubs — Rayo Vallecano, Racing Santander, Real Betis, Zaragoza, Granada and Mallorca — are currently in bankruptcy proceedings, as are another six second-division teams.

“That figure alone shows that Spanish football is not well managed financially,” said Barcelona University Professor of Economics Jose Maria Gay de Liebana, who specialises in football.

The analyst compared Spanish football’s debts, which he estimated at 3.5 billion euros in total, to the frenzy of the country’s property market bubble, which imploded in 2008.

“Football is a mirror of the general economy in Spain. For years we have been spending beyond our means, getting deeper and deeper into debt,” he explained.

“For football it’s the same: for years clubs have made colossal and inefficient investments. And as they did not have their own funds to finance these expenses, they went massively into debt.”

A good example of the race to invest, no matter the cost, is Valencia’s “New Mestalla” stadium.

In 2007, in the midst of the property boom, Valencia decided to buy itself a new 70,000-seat stadium — even though it has only 39,000 members.

The 300-million-euro construction cost was supposed to be financed by the sale of the land from its old stadium for some 400 million euros.

Two years later, engulfed by the property market crisis, construction stopped when the club realized it could not find buyers for the old stadium property.

One other factor may have contributed to the accumulation of debts — a lack of financial control by Spanish institutions.

Some blame a lax attitude by the Spanish football league, others the league’s inability to impose tough sporting sanctions.

Until very recently the Spanish professional football league did not have the power to relegate a club in bankruptcy.

Some teams even used the bankruptcy law to their advantage, enjoying legal protection from their creditors while continuing to play football at the highest level.

“I think the new law that came into force in January 2012, which now authorizes the authorities to relegate a club in bankruptcy, will change things a lot,” said sports lawyer Juan de Dios Crespo.

It is unclear, however, if the authorities would risk the public backlash of taking on a football club.

In the 1990s when the footballing authorities threatened to relegate Celta Vigo and Sevilla because of problems with their registration paperwork, they were forced to backpedal under huge pressure from fans.

Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/big-debts-lie-behind-spanish-football-glory-010237811--soccer.html

Spanish football fans hoping to forget the debt crisis by switching on to
watch Lionel Messi face disappointment this year, after the country’s
biggest broadcasters warned they will not bid for key matches unless the
prices fall by 50pc.

Under Spanish law, free-to-air broadcasters are required to air at least one
match per week from La Liga, significantly inflating the prices of those
games. However, Antena 3 (Madrid: A3TV.MC – news) de Television and Mediaset Espana Comunicacion,
Spain’s biggest commercial broadcasters, have said they do not have enough
money to abide by the 15-year law when the next round of bidding begins in
June.

Silvio Gonzalez, chief executive of Antena 3, told Bloomberg: “The
problem with sports events is that it’s good for ratings but it’s a
financial disaster.”

According to Antena 3, La Sexta, a rival broadcaster with which it is merging,
paid around €60m (£49.5m) for football rights last season – equivalent to
€1.6m for each of the 38 matches.

Last year, profits at Antena 3 fell 14pc to €93.4m, while Mediaset Espana’s
parent company, owned by Silvio Berlusconi, cut its dividend this month
after profits fell. Their refusal to bid threatens to put pressure on the
finances of Spain’s football clubs, and fuel an exodus of players to the
English Premier League, where many clubs are owned and funded by super-rich
individuals.

Article source: http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/lionel-messi-fans-could-miss-170607024.html

9 April 2012 14:23

The Spanish football federation (RFEF) has scheduled this month’s Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid for Saturday 21 April.

The eagerly anticipated clash between La Liga’s top two had initially been set to take place on Sunday April 22, but it has been decided the teams will now meet one day earlier.

It will be the third meeting between La Liga champions Barca and league leaders Real at Camp Nou in the 2011/12 campaign.

Real top La Liga by four points from Barca after Jose Mourinho’s front runners were held 0-0 at home to Valencia on Sunday.

There are seven rounds of the Spanish league season remaining.

Article source: http://www.soccerway.com/news/2012/April/09/clasico-brought-forward

At a time when the Premier League is boasting one of their most exciting—albeit extremely unpredictable—seasons, and with the German Bundesliga looking set to brace themselves for a new power to challenge the might of Bayern Munich, it’s fantastically refreshing to see so much from Spanish football than just the twin peaks of Barcelona and Real Madrid.

In this generation of football, there is unquestionably one king, or at least a company of royals in Barcelona’s fantastic 21st-century dream team. The challenge from Real Madrid with the additions of Cristiano Ronaldo and his accompanying second wave of Galacticos have given European football as a whole an extraordinary duel with Spain as the battleground.

But La Liga has proven to be so much more than just the two regular title challengers.

Last night’s Europa League fixtures proved that the teams one step below Barcelona and Madrid are just as capable as their heavyweight counterparts of making an impression, forcing a trident of Spanish clubs in the final four of European football’s secondary competition.

Athletic Bilbao’s triumph over Manchester United in the last round of the Europa League may have been the tipping point which resulted in so much positive attention for La Liga beyond the top two teams. The way they so comfortably and impressively dispatched of the current Premier League leaders was rightfully met with a wave of praise.

The club’s manager, Marcelo Bielsa, has seen his stock skyrocket following both legs against the Red Devils and Bilbao, built around a fantastic array of youth, have drawn even greater attention ahead of this summer’s transfer window.

But even before the season resumed following the turn of the year and the winter break, there was already so much to be excited about (however, not quite Tim Tebow levels of excitement).

Levante were capturing the hearts of Spanish football fans up and down the country with their early-season exploits and achievements, before eventually being recognized internationally for their great displays on the pitch. The team at one point topped La Liga for the first time in the history and took all three points from Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid back in September.

In the meantime, their city rivals Valencia were forming their impressive charge on a top-four finish. Unai Emery, who has received much criticism from the club’s own supporters, has managed to keep the team competitive following the high-profile departures of Juan Mata, David Villa and David Silva in recent summers.

Up until the past few weeks, Valencia looked comfortably set to win the “second title” in Spain behind the top two, and now make up one third of the Spanish contingent looking to capture the Europa League title.

Even before Spain looks at the possibility of another Champions League title heading to either the Camp Nou or the Bernabeu, La Liga’s next group of top clubs have already outperformed their English counterparts in Europe—teams who are in a much higher economic standing.

Atletico Madrid’s purchase of Radamel Falcao demonstrated that the club mean business following their sales of Sergio Aguero and Diego Forlan to Manchester City and Inter Milan, respectively.

It would have seemed a much more sensible option to rebuild quietly in the background, with the 40 million euros paid for the Colombian’s services used much more economically around the club. But it was a sign of impressive intent, and one which might have had a much greater impact if Diego Simeone had been brought in earlier to save the club’s season.

It would be a fantastic advert for the Spanish league if La Liga clubs could take home the Champions League and Europa League trophies in May. Coupled with the very high possibility of another European cup at this summer’s Euros in Poland and Ukraine, there can be no hiding from the fact that La Liga is on a massive and incredible high.

That high is something that can only grow in the coming years and it is sure to gain much more respect from people who dismiss it as nothing more than a two-club league.

Article source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1134846-spanish-football-proving-that-la-liga-is-more-than-just-a-pretty-face