After beating local rivals Deportivo Alaves on Sunday evening, SD Eibar were promoted to La Liga following Las Palmas' defeat to Recreativo Huelva. The tiny club from the Basque Country has never featured in the top division against the likes of Barcelona, Real and Atletico Madrid in their 74 year history, but due to an absurd technicality, could be forced to wait even longer for their time at the top. Due to no fault of their own, the Basques could even find themselves demoted to the Segunda Division B if the rules stand. It is a rule which has sparked mass interest in Spain and across … [Read more...]
Time for LFP to tackle racism
Another racism row flared up during the Seville derby on Sunday evening as 'supporters' (a loosely used term) of Betis turned on their own player, Paulao, apparently racially abusing the Brazilian centre-back. It is not the first time racism has been seen in Spanish football and it has been happening without sufficient punishment for too long. The incident at Betis needs to be Spain's watershed moment and the country should rally and appreciate that the issue of racism in football has to be addressed. … [Read more...]
Does LFP need to reformat its premier division?
La Liga has two representatives in the UEFA Champion’s League semi-finals and an all-Spanish final might occur for the second time in the competition’s history. However, this, we argue, does not reflect the superiority of the Liga BBVA as a whole… ‘Two-horse race’ is often the most common description of the La Liga title race, which, even to those of us who defend the league, appears to be undeniable in recent years. … [Read more...]
Suspicious in Sociedad
Real Sociedad have been improving of late with three wins from their last four games but have been rocked by allegations of match-fixing and doping. The team from the Basque Country currently occupy 8th position but have come under close scrutiny of late following an interview with the club's former President Inaki Badiola in Spanish newspaper AS last Monday. Badiola, President at La Anoeta for a 12 month spell in 2008, suggested that Sociedad players had used 'illegal medicine bought with dirty money from the black market' in a spell under former President Jose Luis Astiazaran, current head … [Read more...]