Javier Tebas bizarrely compares online football piracy to drug crime and child exploitation

Originally posted on Football Espana | By Feargal Brennan | Last updated 4/5/24

La Liga president Javier Tebas is at the centre of a storm following another controversial rant.

Tebas has returned to attention in recent days following series of interviews and bold claims made by the 61-year-old.

Alongside backing Mason Greenwood to remain in Spanish football next season, there have been fresh comments over Luis Rubiales’ RFEF corruption investigation.

Tebas has labelled Rubiales as a ‘pathological liar’ as Spanish authorities continue to delve into his former role at the RFEF.

Alongside those remarks, Tebas has also spoken out over the growth of online football piracy, where live matches can be downloaded via illegal streams.

During his speech at the Intellectual Property Summit in Miami, Tebas made a wild comparison between the issue and other ‘crimes’ involving drugs and child exploitation.

“If you go to Google and type in ‘I want to buy cocaine’ or ‘child sex’ nothing appears. But if you type in ‘free football’ it appears. One is considered a serious crime, but the other is not, and it’s the same thing”, as per quotes from Goal.com.

Tebas went on to expand his point, by stating how groups of tens of thousands of people are allegedly sharing access to illegal football streams, via Telegram and WhatsApp, but claimed the global authorities are not doing enough to stop it.

The post Javier Tebas bizarrely compares online football piracy to drug crime and child exploitation appeared first on Football España.

This article first appeared on Football Espana and was syndicated with permission.

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