Real Madrid ask FIFA to block Villarreal vs. Barcelona from being held in Miami
On Monday, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) approved La Liga's request for Villarreal's home game against Barca in December to be played at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. The RFEF will now submit a request to UEFA to initiate the procedures for FIFA to grant authorisation for the fixture change.
If the game goes ahead, it would be the first time a European top-flight league fixture has taken place in the U.S.
Madrid expressed their 'firm rejection of the proposal' in a statement on Tuesday and criticised it for deviating from the principle of clubs playing half of their league fixtures at home and the other half at their opponent's stadiums.
'The integrity of the competition requires that all matches take place under the same conditions for all teams,' Madrid said. 'Unilaterally modifying this regime breaks the equality between contenders, compromises the legitimacy of the results and sets an unacceptable precedent that opens the door to exceptions based on interests that are not strictly sporting, clearly affecting sporting integrity and risking the adulteration of the competition. If this proposal were to be carried out, its consequences would be so serious that it would be a turning point in the world of football.
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'Any modification of this nature must, in any case, have the express and unanimous agreement of all the clubs participating in the competition, as well as strictly respecting the national and international rules governing the organisation of official competitions.'
In the statement, Madrid ask FIFA to 'not to authorise the holding of the match without the prior consent of all the clubs participating in the competition.'
The club also asked UEFA to 'urge the RFEF to withdraw or deny the request' and called on the Spanish government's Higher Sports Council (Consejo Superior de Deportes, CSD) to not grant 'the necessary administrative authorisation.'
The Athletic have contacted FIFA and UEFA for comment.
In April 2024, La Liga president Javier Tebas insisted that he wanted to stage La Liga matches abroad by the 2025-26 season, arguing that a match in the U.S. would 'strengthen our position in the North American market'.
Tebas has previously had issues with Madrid president Florentino Perez, most notably over the proposed European Super League that was heavily advocated for by Madrid.
The dispute between the pair goes back to when Tebas was elected La Liga president in 2013, with a mandate to centralise its TV broadcast revenues, meaning more money for the majority of smaller clubs who had supported Tebas for the job, but left Madrid (and Barcelona) feeling they were no longer being rewarded for generating the majority of interest in the league.
Villarreal vs. Barcelona is currently slated to take place on the weekend of December 20-21 at Villarreal's Estadio de la Ceramica.
Earlier on Tuesday, Villarreal president Fernando Roig claimed that Villarreal fans would fly to Miami for free or have a 20 per cent discount on their season-ticket if the fixture gets the necessary approval.
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