Real Madrid have slammed plans to play December’s LaLiga game between Villarreal and Barcelona in the United States.
Madrid have said the proposal would “give an undue sporting advantage” to the teams involved and “sets an unacceptable precedent.”
On Monday, the Spanish football federation (RFEF) agreed to pass onto UEFA a request to play the Matchday 17 fixture — due to be played on the weekend of Dec. 20 — at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
LaLiga first proposed playing a competitive game in Miami during the 2018-19 season, but was forced to postpone the plans due to opposition from FIFA, the RFEF and the U.S. Soccer Federation.
Madrid have clashed with LaLiga over a series of issues in recent years, with the club frequently expressing its unhappiness at the league’s management under president Javier Tebas.
In a statement on Tuesday, the club said it had already asked FIFA not to authorize the match “without the prior consent of all clubs participating in the competition.”
Madrid also called on UEFA to put pressure on the RFEF to withdraw its request, and Spain’s Supreme Sports Council (CSD) to refuse its authorization.
“Real Madrid wishes to express to its members, supporters, and football fans in general its firm rejection of the proposal to play the Matchday 17 first-division league game between Villarreal CF and FC Barcelona outside of Spain,” the club statement said in Spanish.
“The measure, implemented without prior information or consultation with the clubs participating in the competition, violates the essential principle of territorial reciprocity which governs double-round league competitions (one match at home and the other at the opposing team’s home), altering the competitive balance and giving an undue sporting advantage to the clubs which made the request.
“The integrity of the competition demands that all matches be held under the same conditions for all teams. Unilaterally modifying this regime violates equality between contenders, compromises the legitimacy of the results, and sets an unacceptable precedent which opens the door to exceptions based on interests other than strictly sporting ones, clearly affecting sporting integrity and risking the competition’s adulteration.
“If this proposal is implemented, its consequences would be so serious that they would mark a turning point in the football world.
“Any modification of this kind must, in any case, have the express and unanimous agreement of all clubs participating in the competition.”
LaLiga president Tebas told ESPN last year that the league was looking to fulfill its aim of playing a competitive game in the U.S. during the 2025-26 season.
The league’s first bid involved a game between Barcelona and Girona in January 2019, while it later suggested playing last season’s match between Barça and Atlético Madrid in the U.S.
The first attempt was dropped after facing opposition from FIFA, while the 2024-25 effort was ditched because of a lack of time to organize the game.
Last year, FIFA set up a working group to investigate the impact of playing competitive domestic league matches abroad.
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World football’s governing body had faced legal action from LaLiga’s U.S. business partner, Relevant Sports, after blocking the initial Miami game proposal, before reaching an agreement on the issue.
LaLiga is not the only top European league to be looking at playing games overseas.
Italy’s football federation has backed plans to take Serie A‘s AC Milan vs. Como to Australia in February.
