Rubi: 'I've lost out on a promotion or at least the chance to compete on equal terms'
The UD Almería head coach believes: 'This second tier has been corrupted' and encourages reflection on the future so that teams can compete with their international players in action
UD Almería head coach Joan Francesc Ferrer Sicilia 'Rubi' has met the media to express his disagreement with certain aspects related to the play-offs. He clarified at all times that his decision to speak out was entirely personal and that he considered it appropriate to do so once the season was over for the Rojiblancos as he had stated in previous pressers, so as not to harm or affect the players.
The press conference started with a text read out loud by him, in which the Catalan expressed his impressions of everything that has happened in the last month. 'The corruption of the Segunda division is a serious problem plaguing Spanish football,' he stated. Rubi interprets the reasons for this unfair competition as having to do with 'poor planning by the league and an imposition by FIFA, which forces us to leave the best players, those who are international, without the national squads during specific times of the tournament.'
The Vilassar de Mar native feels: 'I've lost out on a promotion or at least the chance to compete for it on equal terms with my rivals, but that's not why I'm here. My presence is about making our leaders reflect and trying to find an optimal solution for everyone.'
For Rubi, the solution should be for 'all the groups that make up football to pull in the same direction—LFP, RFEF, AFE, and the Coaches Committee—to provide the best possible product. Fans will not stop going to Stadiums, nor will we lose TV viewers if games are played earlier.'
The UD Almería gaffer answered journalists' questions related to the topic at hand. Asked whether his appearance would have been affected by a possible promotion to Primera, he confessed: 'If we had earned promoted, we would've considered ourselves disadvantaged anyway. If we can learn from this experience to change this, it'd be a lesser good if we didn't achieve our goal.'
Regarding sport as a business, Rubi was emphatic: 'The economic aspect should never be more important than the sporting aspect. The spirit of sport and fairness should always prevail.'