La Liga are hoping to host a match outside of Spain for the very first time this season, with the December fixture between Villarreal and Barcelona having been selected. However, it will not be easy to get it fully approved, despite the Spanish Football Federation having already signed off.
Real Madrid have already opposed the match, and they have now been joined by the Spanish Player’s Association. In a statement posted on Thursday (via Sport), they have made it clear that they are also not amused about the possibility of a La Liga fixture being played in the United States.
“The Association of Spanish Footballers (AFE) and all the captains of La Liga met on Thursday afternoon to assess the request that, as announced by the RFEF on August 11, would raise UEFA and FIFA for the dispute, outside the national territory, of a La Liga match this season.
“AFE required La Liga to provide a descriptive report with all the details in order to inform the players and know their opinion. In its response, the employers’ association denied any responsibility for anticipating the plan and only promised to report on the progress of the authorisation process.
“Faced with this situation, we consider that, due to the absence of dialogue and information to the players, the start of the procedures of a project promoted by La Liga and approved without any information by the Board of Directors of the RFEF, is a lack of respect for the players when it implies changes at the sporting level and a displacement as workers outside the national territory within the framework of a domestic league.
“We are united. We want respect and transparency.”
Final decision to be made by end of September
It remains to be seen how this matter plays out, but a resolution is expected to be known by the end of next month.
