Liga chief brands Clasico corruption claims ´implausible´

Claims of attempted corruption in November’s Clasico clash in La Liga have been branded “implausible” by Javier Tebas, the president of Spain’s Professional Football League (LFP).

Reported allegations from an unnamed assistant referee emerged this week, in which the official claimed to have been pressured by a member of the Referees Technical Committee to try to sway the match between Real Madrid and Barcelona in favour of the capital club.

Sports Council (CSD) chief Miguel Cardenal urged the official in question to come forward on Thursday, saying: “Nobody, in Spain in 2015, should fear reprisal. They have the justice administration, the government, and the Sports Council at their disposal.

“Should he say what has happened, and make it known to the sports authorities, it would be taken completely seriously.”

However, La Liga president Tebas says it is difficult to credit the claims because no match officials have yet been appointed for the encounter on November 21.

“The complaint sounds a little implausible, because the officials have not been appointed for that match yet,” he said to Marca.

Tebas also talked about the investigation into FIFA vice-president Angel Maria Villar, which is understood to have been brought about by the FIFA ethics committee after he refused to cooperate with Michael Garcia’s report into the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

“It’s not for doing the dirty work himself, but for failing to collaborate in finding out how the others did it,” said Tebas