ANGRY football supporters in Spain have been vindicated after La Liga backtracked on controversial plans to host a league match in the United States.
Villarreal vs Barcelona, originally pencilled in for 21 December at Villarreal’s Estadio de la Ceramica, appeared set to become the first European league fixture to be played abroad after the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) gave the green light for the game to be played in Miami.
But that decision, taken in August, sparked a huge backlash, culminating in a protest organised last weekend where players from all 20 of La Liga’s clubs refused to move for the first 15 seconds of each match.
The Spanish Footballers’ Association (AFE) said the move was a ‘symbolic protest’ against the league’s ‘lack of transparency, dialogue and coherence’.
Relevant, a US-based events promoter founded by the owner of the Hard Rock Stadium and Miami Dolphins, have now said there is ‘insufficient time’ to organise the match, meaning the game will now return to its original date and location – much to the relief of supporters and players.
READ MORE: ‘Stop the madness’: Outrage in Spain after La Liga agrees to play league match in US
In a statement, La Liga said it ‘deeply regretted’ the postponement, describing it as a blow to the ‘international profile of the entire football ecosystem’.
“Holding an official match outside our borders would have been a decisive step in the global growth of the competition,” it added.
“In an increasingly competitive global landscape, where leagues such as the Premier League or competitions like the UEFA Champions League continue to expand their reach and ability to generate revenue, initiatives like this are essential to ensure the sustainability and growth of Spanish soccer.”
Barcelona said it ‘respects and accepts’ the decision, but ‘regrets the missed opportunity to expand the competition’s image’ in a market that has a ‘great capacity for growth and generation of resources for everyone’.
The U-turn is reminiscent of the European Super League, an ill-fated breakaway tournament backed by many of Europe’s elite clubs in 2021 which was quickly discarded after fans launched a series of protests.
But this postponement is unlikely to spell the end of the road, with La Liga bosses increasingly looking to gain an edge on their competitors by capitalising on the growing American market.
Last year, La Liga said it wanted to host Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid in Miami, although the proposal was later binned owing to time constraints.
In 2019, Barcelona tried to play Catalan rivals Girona in Miami, but the move was scrapped after objections from the RFEF and players’ unions.
The latest proposal was only made possible by the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by Relevant against FIFA and the US Soccer Federation.
The company, tasked with promoting the doomed match in Miami, launched legal action after the proposal to host a Barcelona match in 2019 was scrapped.
US Soccer refused to sanction the match, saying it would breach a FIFA statute that barred domestic league games from being taken abroad.
But Relevant sued, arguing that the statute violated the US’ Sherman Antitrust Act – a piece of legislation dating back all the way to 1890 which intended to combat monopolies.
The case was eventually settled without prejudice.
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