La Liga chief laments Miami match collapse as others celebrate
The scrapping of La Liga's proposal to stage a Barcelona fixture in Miami during December marks a "missed opportunity" for Spanish football, according to the league's president on Wednesday, even as the downfall drew celebrations from other quarters.
Champions Barcelona were due to take on Villarreal in the United States on 20 December, an event that would have marked the debut of a European league game played overseas.
The fixture will instead occur at Villarreal's Estadio de la Ceramica as usual.
La Liga explained that their event promoter chose to abandon the arrangements owing to the "uncertainty created in Spain over recent weeks".
La Liga president Javier Tebas posted on X to voice his disappointment at failing to grasp "this historic opportunity", stating that Spanish football had lost a vital chance to "grow, to promote itself globally and to strengthen its prospects".
The idea of relocating the match to the United States faced opposition from multiple sources.
The Spanish Footballers' Association (AFE) coordinated demonstrations against it over the weekend, with players from all teams standing still for 15 seconds at the beginning of every league game.
Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid opposed it on an official level, while goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois commented on Tuesday that it would compromise the competition's fairness.
Madrid skipper Dani Carvajal informed Tebas that staging the game abroad would constitute "a blemish" on the league.
Tebas responded: "We hear appeals to the 'integrity of the competition' from those who have undermined this very integrity for years, by influencing referees and coaches, fabricating misleading stories or deploying political and media influence as a means of sporting leverage."
The chair of Spain's Sports Council (CSD), Jose Manuel Rodriguez Uribes, indicated that La Liga had mishandled the effort to set up the match.
"The Miami incident... illustrates that this approach is not the correct one," he remarked on Wednesday.
"Prior to pursuing such a major initiative, one that might clearly impact the competition's integrity, it was essential to engage in discussions and secure consensus among all stakeholders, including every club.
"Naturally, the players and supporters must be factored in too."
Rodriguez Uribes stressed the need for "complete transparency", along with "suitable regulations" for events of this sort, which are presently absent.
"At the CSD, we will consistently favour, as we have maintained from the start, hosting sporting events in Spain over exporting them," he concluded.
Seismic victory
The AFE issued a declaration pointing to La Liga's "lack of transparency, consultation, and consistency" regarding the fixture.
"Players united in protest on the field last week to deliver a strong signal: football cannot exist without its players," the association further noted.
In February, Serie A remains committed to organising a clash between AC Milan and Como in Perth, Australia, notwithstanding comparable resistance from supporters and athletes.
Football Supporters Europe (FSE), an advocacy group for fan concerns, hailed the Miami fixture's cancellation as a "seismic victory" and cautioned the Italian premier division against proceeding.
"Insisting on this flawed concept would inflict needless harm on the league's standing, on Italian football, and on the sport overall," FSE declared in their release.