LaLiga comes to a stand still as players protest against Barca-Villareal’s Miami move

October 20 – For the second consecutive matchday, Spain’s La Liga players made their feelings crystal clear about moving domestic fixtures abroad, even if television overlords seemed determined that fans wouldn’t witness the protests.

Just before kickoff at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Montjuïc, as Barcelona hosted Girona, the broadcast feed inexplicably cut to an exterior shot of the stadium. When the feed returned, the game was already underway. What viewers missed were fifteen seconds of collective stillness and a silent protest by both teams against La Liga’s plan to stage the Barcelona–Villareal fixture in Miami on December 20.

Across Spain, the same sleight of hand was repeated. Cameras stayed tight on center-circle close-ups or crowd pans rather than the full pitch, avoiding the players coordinated stand. Asking the question as to why the league is so afraid of showing peaceful dissent?

Barcelona’s Pedri González said after the match: “We were not part of the protest, but we felt that we needed to follow along out of respect for our fellow professionals.”

The players’ union, which organised the action, said it was in response to “a lack of transparency, dialogue and coherence from La Liga regarding the possibility of playing a game in the United States.”

Supporters’ groups are also determined to have their voices heard. FASFE, Spain’s national fan federation, blasted the Miami plan as “a demented attempt to rob our communities of football.” Coaches and players across the top flight have not been shy about airing their thoughts on the proposed fixture, with Real Madrid’s Xabi Alonso calling the idea “an adulteration of the competition,” while Barça’s Frenkie de Jong and coach Hansi Flick warned that it would only add to players’ already brutal schedules.

And yet, despite the protests and the censorship, La Liga president Javier Tebas remains steadfast, arguing that taking a match abroad will “boost revenues and global visibility” for the league. But at what cost?

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