Tebas: Villar is selfish, lacks respect

La Liga President Javier Tebas describes Spanish Football Federation supremo and UEFA Presidential candidate Angel Maria Villar as ‘selfish.’

Villar has confirmed his intention to stand to replace Michel Platini on a full-time basis after holding the post short-term, and Tebas can’t see his rival succeeding.

“You only have to look at how he is playing with the timetable for the elections of the Federation at his whim and the selfishness to be a UEFA candidate. That shows the respect he has for Spanish football,” Tebas lamented, Marca reports.

“The tortuous and illegal delay to elections in Spain to see if he is elected by UEFA and if not to present himself [in the Federation elections] are the facts that are there to assess how he manages a federation.

“I’ve been saying for a long time, it’s a feudal castle, a court. He does what he wants and believes we are all his serfs. Hopefully there’s going to be a change. I’ve read [Aleksandar] Ceferin and [Michael] Van Praag are standing and I think it will be very difficult [for Villar]. I don’t want him in Spain or UEFA, but I’d rather he was there than here.”

Tebas did though agree with the appointment of Julen Lopetegui as Spain Coach, even if he questioned the procedure through which he was hired.

“I think it’s a smart move because he fulfils the condition of having been Coach in the lower age groups. Being the national team Coach is not the same as being a Coach because you’re with the players a few times in the season, you’re not with them every day,” Tebas noted.

“You have to find their level of play and that requires a different way of understanding the team. But he’s also been Coach at Porto and has experienced the pressure of a big team. He’s a good choice.

“It’s another thing the way he was chosen. The Federation regulations were skipped. But he’ll be a good Coach, in my opinion.”

Tags Angel Maria Villar Javier Tebas Spain
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