Spain: EU holds up yellow card to seven soccer teams

The European Commission has launched investigations into seven professional soccer teams within Spain over allegations of illegal state aid, say reports.

The teams, which are not exempt from antitrust law in the EU, face the possibility of being forced to pay back what it received from the government.

Such aid is not uncommonly given to beloved soccer teams in Europe, as reports say public money is used to renovate stadiums, build new ones, or offer tax breaks to the teams.

Now, experts say the Commission’s investigation is opening a broader debate into the way the professional soccer industry does business.

Reports say the Commission launched its investigation four years after receiving complaints from investors. The probe has reportedly ignited rare conflict-of-interest allegations, as European Commissioner Joaquin Almunia has close ties to his hometown Athletic Club Bilbao.

Further, say reports, Almunia served as a minister in the Spanish administration that allowed such tax advantages.

Almunia has denied the allegations that there is a conflict of interest regarding the case.

The teams in question include Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, and AC Bilbao, as well as Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, into suspicions they unfairly benefitted from the tax breaks.

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