Spanish LaLiga chair Javier Tebas resigns in electoral move

ANKARA

Spanish LaLiga President Javier Tebas resigned in an electoral move on Wednesday.

"LALIGA calls elections. As of today, Nov. 22, 2023, Mr. Javier Tebas Medrano has tendered his resignation as president of LALIGA," the Spanish football league organizers said in a statement.

"As a result, an electoral process has begun during which, in accordance with the provisions of the statutes and regulations, a random selection process will be conducted today to appoint the members of the Electoral Commission. Once established, it will be responsible for starting the election process," the LaLiga statement said.

Tebas said on X that he resigned prior to the termination of his term that would end on Dec. 23.

"A new electoral process will open in which I will present myself, so I will request the endorsement and trust of the clubs to take on the challenges at hand," he added.

LaLiga is responsible for 42 clubs; 20 are in top-flight LaLiga, the rest in second-tier LaLiga2.

Tebas, a Spanish-Costa Rican lawyer, has served as the LaLiga chief since 2013.

He is expected to chair LaLiga for a fourth straight term if the 61-year-old will be unopposed.

During his 10-year term, Tebas worked to strengthen LaLiga and LaLiga2 clubs' financial conditions and to tackle racism in the Spanish leagues.

Also, he outspokenly criticized England's Manchester City and France's Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) for their spending power.

In 2022, LaLiga filed a complaint with UEFA against PSG and Manchester City, claiming that these clubs continuously violated Financial Fair Play rules.