BeIN make La Liga TV rights payment, accuses Tebas of ‘feuds’

Media group beIN said on Friday it had made a payment to La Liga for television rights two weeks after the Spanish league took out a court injunction to freeze 50 million euros ($48.5 million) of assets after the money was not paid.

Earlier this month, a Spanish court placed a temporary hold on the 50 million euros pending a full hearing on the case in the latest move in a bitter standoff 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.

BeIN confirmed it had made the payment “as scheduled” and accused Tebas of pursuing “personal feuds”.

“BeIN confirms it has honoured its latest obligations to La Liga – as scheduled, and in keeping with beIN’s trusted relationship with all our partners for decades,” a spokesperson for the company told AFP. 

“It is unfortunate that the president of La Liga, week-on-week, pursues unhinged personal feuds and public attacks on partners and stakeholders, ahead of the best interests of Spanish clubs and Spanish football.

“All this, at a time when LaLiga needs good leadership and strong partnerships more than ever.”

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.

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”.