La Liga President Javier Tebas said that the "cashed-up Chinese Super League wasn't far from becoming one of the world's top football competitions -- but he hopes Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo aren't headed there just yet," according to Matthew Mohan of the AFP. Speaking in Singapore, Tebas said that he "welcomed China's burgeoning interest in football, which includes investments in Spain's Atletico Madrid and Espanyol." Atletico's Colombian striker Jackson Martinez was "one of the big signings in China's lavish spree." But Tebas said that he hoped Barcelona and Real Madrid players Messi and Ronaldo were not "about to join China's growing band of expensive foreign imports." Tebas: "You'll have to ask them that but I certainly hope not. There are enough football stars to go around" (AFP, 3/17).
VIDEO REFS: INSIDE THE GAMES' Daniel Etchells reported while in Singapore, Tebas spoke "of his support for the use of video referees in football." Earlier in March, it "was announced that video referees will be tested in football no later than" the '17-18 season. Tebas said, "We're in favor of technology in stadiums." The Int'l FA Board, which makes rulings on the laws of football, said that it does "not expect to achieve" 100% accuracy for every single decision, with video only used for "game-changing" moments. La Liga has "yet to implement goal-line technology." Tebas said that this is "for political reasons, not technological reasons," citing the high cost of systems (INSIDE THE GAMES, 3/16).
