La Liga, which manages professional football in Spain, requires in its broadcasting rules that the operators who will win the television rights to the first division for the 2022-23 season cover the championship in a way “positive“, a clause which provoked the protest of defenders of freedom of the media. “The winning broadcasters agree that the production will be carried out in a positive way, avoiding damage to the image of competition, clubsplayers, coaches and supporters“, Can we read in the guidelines of the call for tenders for the broadcasting of matches unveiled on Wednesday.
«In case of violation of these principles, La Liga will inform the contractor so that he does not repeat his violation, being able to request the replacement of the commentators and reporters who have violated the aforementioned principles.Teresa Ribeiro, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) representative for media freedom, expressed concern about these restrictions. “The new conditions unreasonably limit the freedom of the media and the public’s right to information“said Ribeiro.
«This is unfortunately becoming a growing practice in the world of football“, she pointed out. For his part, a source within La Liga explained to AFP that these restrictions were aimed at “avoid tabloid topics and questions about players’ familiesduring match broadcasts and post-match interviews.