Tebas, Gaspart, Marcelino… blunder after blunder

The championship comes to its conclusion amidst nasty rumours. As almost always happens, but this time more than ever. At the heart of it are the suspicions cast over the Real Sociedad - Rayo match by Liga boss Javier Tebas. Supposedly someone at Rayo helped Real Sociedad win, with either gambling or bribery being the reason. Someone or ‘some people’. But who? The aspersion taints everyone and tarnishes the competition. In the spotlight is Rayo, who have one foot in the second division, and are feeling offended and humiliated. Something like this shouldn’t be made public until exactly what happened is clear.

Just before that game it was voiced that, as La Real and Rayo have the same sponsor, La Real could aid Rayo’s survival, but as we saw that didn’t transpire. Another strange game from that weekend was Sevilla 1, Granada 4. It suits Sevilla if Barça win the league as that will assure them a place in the Spanish Supercopa [with all the income that would mean] even if they lose the final of the Copa de Rey against the Catalans. Was it for this reason that they made so many changes to their team to allow Granada to beat them, ensure their safety, and then have nothing to play for against Barça today? Or was it more to do with resting players after a long season ahead of two cup finals? The system has its paradoxes and everyone can think what they want.

Football isn’t perfect, but neither is it the toxic mess these days would suggest. The worst of it is that Tebas has contributed to it. He needs to stand firm against match fixing (and does) but he needs to be discrete about it until there is proof. His hastiness tarnishes the championship that shines in so many other ways thanks to many brilliant initiatives. Gaspart, too, was completely out of line, talking nonsense about Real Madrid in a kind of relapse into his old mental pathology, something we thought he’d moved on from. And Marcelino, insisting that he reminds us that he is a fan of Sporting [his Villarreal side play Sporting today…]. These blunders are a stain on our times.