LaLiga Cancels Barcelona vs. Villarreal Match in Miami: What Happened?

LaLiga Cancels Match in Miami between Villarreal and Barcelona

LaLiga has suspended its plans to hold a regular season match between Villarreal and Barcelona in Miami this December, according to the league itself announced on Tuesday. The decision was made by Relevent, LaLiga’s partner in the North American market, due to the reaction generated in Spain by the proposal to play a league match on foreign territory.

“LaLiga deeply regrets that this project, which represented a historic and unprecedented opportunity for the internationalization of Spanish football, cannot be carried out.”

LaLiga

The project complied with the federation’s regulations and did not affect the integrity of the competition, as confirmed by the competent institutions, which opposed it for other reasons. Relevent confirmed that they informed LaLiga of the need to postpone the match between Villarreal and Barcelona in Miami on December 20. “Given the current uncertainty in Spain, there is not enough time to properly execute an event of this scale. It would also be irresponsible to start selling tickets without a confirmed match,” they explained.

The advance ticket sale was delayed, attributed to a technical problem. The initiative faced opposition from players, fan groups, and Real Madrid, who requested that FIFA, UEFA, and the Spanish Ministry of Sports (CSD) block the plans. The match between Villarreal and Barcelona was going to be the first regular season match of one of the five major European leagues to be held abroad. Barcelona regretted the decision to cancel the match.

“Barcelona regrets the lost opportunity to expand the image of the competition to a strategic market with growth capacity and resource generation for the benefit of all”.

FC Barcelona

Villarreal coach Marcelino García Toral criticized the timing of LaLiga’s announcement, which coincided with his team’s 2-0 defeat to Manchester City in the Champions League. Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois also joined the criticism, stating that playing in Miami “would totally affect the integrity of the competition.” Frenkie de Jong, from Barcelona, had stated that the plan “was not good for the players”, citing travel fatigue and concerns about fairness. Coach Hansi Flick admitted that neither he nor his team were “happy”. LaLiga had worked for a long time to hold a regular season match in the United States, with an initial proposal involving a match between Girona and Barcelona in the 2018-19 season. UEFA had approved the match in Miami “grudgingly”, while Real Madrid called it an “unacceptable precedent”.