FC Barcelona’s controversial “away game” in Miami has sparked the first major protest in Spain’s La Liga. More are expected on this ninth match day.
In the opening match of the ninth match day between Real Oviedo and Espanyol Barcelona on Friday evening (0-2), the 22 starting players, including former Darmstadt player and current Espanyol professional Clemens Riedel, remained motionless on the pitch for 15 seconds after the kick-off.
However, viewers watching on TV did not notice this, as the global broadcast cut to an outside view of the stadium.
Players’ union announces protests for entire match day
The protests did not come as a complete surprise, however. A few hours before kick-off, the Spanish players’ union had announced protests for all matches on the 9th match day from Friday to Monday. The actions are intended to protest against “a lack of transparency and dialogue” regarding the relocation of a league match to the US, the union said.
Specifically, this refers to the match between Villarreal CF and FC Barcelona, which is to be played on December 20 in Miami, the adopted home of club icon Lionel Messi and former Barça stars Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, and Luis Suárez, as La Liga announced last week. This had provoked widespread rejection from a large part of the fan groups and clubs, who see it as an attack on soccer culture on the one hand and a competitive advantage for Barca on the other, for whom an away game will now feel like a home game. Barcelona coach Hansi Flick and midfielder Frenkie de Jong were also not too happy about their “away away game.” “My players are not happy with it, I’m not happy with it, but La Liga has decided that we will play this game,” Flick reiterated at the press conference ahead of Saturday’s game against Girona, where there will be further protests.
