La Liga censures players' protest against Villarreal vs. Barça in Miami

BarcelonaThe captains and players of the Spanish First Division are standing up against La Liga and the match they want to take to Miami. The Spanish Footballers' Association (AFE) has announced a protest during Matchday 9, which takes place this weekend. The players will stop for 10 seconds at the start of each match. The reason they give is "a symbolic protest in protest of the lack of transparency, dialogue, and coherence" of the Spanish employers' association led by Javier Tebas. The players' union adds that they have left out the players of Villarreal and Barcelona, ​​​​the two teams that will have to play in the United States before Christmas, so as not to construe it as a "measure against any club."

In the first match of the matchday, the players of Oviedo and Espanyol supported the proposal. But the television signal provided by the management censored it: for almost half a minute, it showed aerial images of the Carlos Tartiere stadium and not the game, which was stopped at the time.

"The Spanish Footballers' Association (AFE), with the support of the captains of the Spanish First Division, announces that, during all matches corresponding to the ninth round of the Spanish First Division National League Championship, at the start of each match, the players will symbolically protest in protest of the lack of transparency, dialogue, and coherence of the League," the AFE statement read. Players in Spain's top flight are strongly opposed to La Liga's desire to move a match to Miami. The association officially announced on October 8 that the Villarreal - Barça matchday 17 of the national championship will be played at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, instead of the Estadio de la Cerámica on December 20.

Hansi Flick and Frenkie de Jong, against the match in Miami

This has sparked anger among Primera División players toward La Liga, even more so after Tebas's snub to the captains to avoid discussing the match in Miami. The management proposed alternative dates for this meeting after tickets went on sale. In other words, Tebas intends to put tickets on sale to the American public before meeting with the players. Now, the president of La Liga will see how, for 15 seconds of all of this week's matches, which are being watched around the world, no football is played. Only Barça-Girona and Villarreal-Betis, which are played this Saturday, are exempt from the protest. There are no recent precedents for such a forceful measure by football professionals, who are opposed to playing La Liga matches outside of Spain. On the Blaugrana side, coach Hansi Flick and captain Frenkie de Jong have already expressed their opposition.