Villarreal Women deducted six points as relegation becomes a distinct threat

This has been the big news from last week. In a ruling by the RFEF, Villarreal, Real Sociedad and Levante were deducted three points plus a fine of 602 € while Valencia, Rayo Vallecano and Betis received only the fine. The reason? They have to wear the logo of the RFEF on the sleeve. As Villarreal didn’t have it during the postponed match against UD Granadilla Tenerife, they got another three points deducted, so they are now at -2 in the standings.

Why was Villarreal (or the other clubs) playing without the logo? This could be boiled down to a war between the LFP (directed by Tebas) and the RFEF (directed by Rubiales) with clubs in this case being proxies.

On June 15, the CSD (Consejo Superior de Deportes, High Council of Sports) declared the Primera as a professional league where they were looking towards a 16-team league. They will sign a collective agreement with the RFEF while another company handle the business promotions (sponsorships, TV rights) giving to the clubs more decision making on that front. The LFP is interested in being that company.

The reality is that RFEF is not signing that part, and blocking the professionalization of the league so they remain as the top dog of the women’s game. So, for the RFEF, as the league is a non-pro organization, they have to wear their logo. Villarreal (and the others) say that per the ruling from June 15, the league is professional, therefore they have a saying on what they wear on the sleeve besides the competition logo. All the teams had a 10-day limit to make a plea about it, and all involved will make it, as they consider the situation unfair. Their next match, they wore the logo, but they made a protest at the start of the match while covering the infamous logo.

If you ask me, this is a very unfair situation, where on an arbitrariness basis, you have devaluated the competition, while at the same time, giving a grievance to the implicated teams.

On the sporting side, another loss against Sevilla via 2-3. A pity, as Sevilla won the game in four minutes with the initial 0-2, and Villarreal played pretty well, and even had a controversial penalty shout at the end of the match. Let’s hope to get a win against Rayo Vallecano this Sunday.