Chance or coincidence? A few hours after the recruitment of Ousmane Dembélé, Paris SG is in the sights of the Spanish Professional Football League, which has lodged a complaint with the European Commission denouncing the financing mechanisms of the capital club supported by Qatar which allow it to recruit players and coaches “far beyond its possibilities in a normal market scenario”.
La Liga chaired by Javier Tebas, on a crusade for several years against PSG and its state shareholder, published a long statement in which it lists its grievances considering that the practices of the Parisian club “generate a serious distortion of the internal market of the Union European.” The Spanish leaders in particular point the finger at “the foreign subsidies granted by non-EU States to companies which carry out an economic activity in the internal market, including those which come from public companies controlled directly or indirectly by a State” which would come to infringe a rule applicable since July 12 within the European Union.
In summary, La Liga accuses Paris SG of unfair competition by receiving funds from the Qatari state. This support would improve the competitive position of French champions on markets parallel to sports competition (markets for audiovisual marketing of competitions or the sponsorship market in particular).
“This is why LA LIGA hopes that the European Commission, through this new regulatory tool, will take the necessary measures to eliminate market distortions such as those described, which seriously harm the sports ecosystem,” the statement concludes.