Javier Tebas dealt another major blow as court rules La Liga players' protest against Villarreal vs Barcelona match in Miami was legal

In a significant legal setback for Tebas, the National Court has ruled that the brief protest staged by La Liga players earlier this seasib was entirely legal.

La Liga had sought to classify a 15-second pause at the start of matches as an "undercover strike," but the court dismissed these claims, describing the action as a manifestation of the right to freedom of expression in connection with union freedom.

The dispute originated during the ninth round of fixtures when club captains agreed to stop play for the opening seconds of their respective games. This collective gesture was a direct response to the controversial proposal to relocate a match between Villarreal and Barcelona to Miami - a plan that was eventually scrapped.

The court noted that the pause had "null significance" regarding the development of the matchday, as all games were completed without further incident.

The league had aggressively pursued legal action against the Players' Association (AFE), claiming that the protest had caused significant commercial harm.

La Liga argued that the action caused a loss of €8.7 million to its product. However, the judiciary remained unmoved by these figures, asserting that the protest did not meet the legal requirements to be classified as a strike.

The ruling emphasised that the players were motivated by a lack of transparency and dialogue from La Liga regarding the Miami project.

According to the court, the action was a symbolic way for the athletes to voice their discontent after being excluded from discussions that directly affected their working conditions and the integrity of the competition.

The legal battle followed a breakdown in communication between the two governing bodies of Spanish football. AFE president David Aganzo had attended a mediation meeting at the Inter-confederal Mediation and Arbitration Service (SIMA) in December, but Tebas was notably absent.

This failure to reach an agreement led the league to elevate the matter to the National Court, where they have now suffered this defeat.

Despite the court acknowledging that the collective action occurred during working hours, it maintained that the protest's duration - just 10 to 15 seconds - precluded it from being considered an illegal strike.

The judges pointed out that La Liga had failed to provide sufficient information to the players' union during the planning stages of the Miami exhibition, further justifying the players' need to express their opposition through symbolic means.

True to form, Tebas and his administration have no intention of letting the matter rest. La Liga has already announced that it will lodge an appeal with the Supreme Court, stating the move is "with the aim of clarifying the scope of these rights in the field of professional football and ensuring adequate protection of the integrity of the competition and its audiovisual rights."

In a statement following the ruling, the league highlighted that "the sentence itself recognises as a proven fact the reputational and economic impact generated, derived from a collective action that directly affected the normal development of the audiovisual product at a time of maximum relevance."