- Javier Tebas was talking at the Intellectual Property Summit in Miami, Florida
- The LaLiga chief is ’99 per cent’ confident Real Madrid will sign Kylian Mbappe
- Why this is the end for Erik ten Hag at Man United – Listen to the It’s All Kicking Off podcast
Javier Tebas has claimed that illegal streams are more readily available online than those seeking to buy illegal drugs or child pornography in a tirade against the rise in football piracy.
Tebas is the president of Spain’s top-flight, LaLiga, and has caught headlines on a number of occasions for his words, for example he admitted ‘I don’t care’ after receiving criticism for welcoming Mason Greenwood to the division.
Greenwood joined Getafe on loan from Manchester United on transfer deadline day last summer, having previously been arrested on suspicion of rape and sexual assault – allegations which were later dropped.
Tebas was in attendance in Miami for the Intellectual Property Summit, and it was there that he launched an attack against a perceived lack of punishment for those involved in football piracy.
There has been a recent crackdown in the United Kingdom on the use of ‘fire sticks’ to stream football, with one individual – Steven Mills – jailed for two-and-a-half years for providing the illegal tools which showed Premier League matches via a closed Facebook group.
Javier Tebas claimed that access to illegal football streams is much more readily available than people searching online for ‘cocaine’ or ‘child sex’
Tebas was in attendance in Miami for the Intellectual Property Summit and discussed the need to crack down on football piracy
Speaking on the topic, Tebas claimed that while football piracy is still a crime, much like ‘buying cocaine’ or searching for ‘child sex’, illegal streams are still readily available for anyone seeking them.
‘If you go to Google and type in “I want to buy cocaine” or “child sex” nothing appears. But if you type in “free football” it appears… One is considered a serious crime, but the other is not, and it’s the same thing.’
He continued: ‘On Telegram and Discord there are groups of 50 and 60 thousand people, of all languages, with the ‘links’ to view illegal content.
‘In…