BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — La Liga players launched protests against the league's decision to stage a regular season game in Miami, but the first protest on Friday was not televised as expected.
The television feed of the game at Oviedo against Espanyol cut to the exterior of the stadium for the first 25 seconds of the game, when players paused for the opening 15 seconds in opposition to plans to take a game to the United States.
The game came just hours
after the Spanish soccer players’ union announced that protests would be held straight after kickoff in games in the ninth round from Friday through Monday.
The players' union said in a statement that the “players will protest in a symbolic fashion to denounce the lack of transparency, dialogue and coherence of La Liga regarding the possibility of playing a game in the United States.”
La Liga made official last week its plans to hold a the Barcelona-Villarreal game in Miami on Dec. 20.
The union said the captains of the 20 top-flight sides were in agreement with the protest. But the union added it had not asked the Barcelona and Villarreal players to participate in the protest, even though, the union said “they share the basic premise of the protest.”
Barcelona hosts Girona and Villarreal hosts Real Betis on Saturday.
Earlier Friday, Barcelona coach Hansi Flick and his players were not pleased at having to travel 7,200 kilometers (4,500 miles) to play a regular season game.
“My players are not happy, I am not happy, but La Liga decided that we will play this game,” Flick said at a press conference in reply to a question about his position on the game.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has defended the move by saying it represents an opportunity to further push into the American sports market.
But for Flick and his players, it represents added travel before a short winter break. Barcelona will also travel to Saudi Arabia for the Spanish Super Cup starting on Jan. 7.
Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong also criticized playing the game in the U.S., saying players were already overloaded with travel and a packed playing calendar.
Like Barcelona, Villarreal was also playing in the Champions League.
La Liga president Javier Tebas has defended the game abroad as a key to boosting “revenues in the mid- to long-term” and increasing the value of his competition's television rights, which lag behind those of England's Premier League.
Tebas said the league plans to make an international match an annual event.
The match will be at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, home of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins.
The league has chartered planes to take to Florida what it estimates will be 2,000 to 3,000 fans from Villarreal, which is the home team.
La Liga has tried and failed in recent years to get a game abroad. If it succeeds this time, it will be the first major European league to do so, even though federation-organized events like the Spanish Super Cup and the Italian Super Cup are now held in Saudi Arabia.
Italy’s Serie A is also planning to move a Feb. 8 match between Milan and Como to Perth, Australia, saying the San Siro won’t be available after hosting the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics two days earlier.
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