Spanish soccer avoids stoppage after tweak to sports bill

By JOSEPH WILSON
Associated Press

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — The Spanish soccer league seems to have avoided the possibility of a stoppage of play after La Liga president Javier Tebas said he was content with changes to a new sports law making its way through Spain’s parliament. Among the changes that were made to the proposed bill was the elimination of language that Tebas said would have put in danger the league’s ability to continue selling the television rights of the competition. But Tebas lamented that the bill still does not give power to the Spanish federation to exclude players who participate in unauthorized competitions. That would give the federation a powerful tool to discourage players from playing in a hypothetical Super League breakaway competition.