La Liga’s plan to hold a Barcelona match in Miami in December has been called off because of “uncertainty” about the game within Spain, the Spanish top flight said in a statement on Tuesday.
Champions Barca were set to face Villarreal in the US on Dec. 20, which would have been the first European league fixture to be played abroad.
La Liga said their promoter for the match decided to cancel the organization of the event because of “uncertainty generated in Spain in recent weeks.”
Photo: AFP
The Spanish top flight said they “deeply regret that the project, which represented a historic and unparallelled opportunity to take Spanish football to the international stage, cannot go ahead.”
Tickets for the game at the Hard Rock Stadium were due to become available on Tuesday, but organizers said the presale was “delayed” before the plan was scrapped.
The match is to be held at Villarreal’s Estadio de la Ceramica home as normal.
“Barcelona respect and accept the decision to cancel the match against Villarreal in Miami ... just as we respected and accepted the decision to play when it was made at the time,” Barca said in a statement.
The Catalan giants said they regret “the lost opportunity to expand the image of the competition in a strategic market with growth potential,” and that US-based fans “will be deprived of witnessing” the game in the flesh.
La Liga published their statement during Villarreal’s 2-0 UEFA Champions League defeat by Manchester City.
“It seems to me an absolute lack of respect to put out a statement at half-time of a game about something that was planned, but will not happen,” Villarreal coach Marcelino Garcia Toral said. “It’s a lack of respect to the directors of the club, the club itself, the professionals and the fans.”
“Tomorrow the club will make a statement about what they think, those are my thoughts,” he said.
The plan to hold the match in the US was criticized by various parties.
The Spanish Footballers’ Association organized protests against it last weekend, with players from every team not moving for 15 seconds at the start of each league match.
Spanish giants Real Madrid also railed against it institutionally, while goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said on Tuesday it would adulterate the competition.
Madrid captain Dani Carvajal told La Liga president Javier Tebas the game being held abroad would be “a stain” on the competition.
La Liga have been trying to hold a match abroad for several years, with this the closest they have got after European soccer governing body UEFA granted them permission.
UEFA said it opposed the idea of games being played overseas, but would allow it on an exceptional basis, along with an Italian Serie A match set to take place in Australia in February next year between AC Milan and Como.
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
By the time Cameron Menzies finally left the arena on Monday, the blood gushing from the gash on his right hand had trickled down his wrist, part of his forearm and — somehow — up to his face. Smeared in crimson and regret, and already mouthing sheepish apologies to the crowd, he disappeared down the steps, pursued by a stern-looking Matt Porter, the chief executive of Professional Darts Corp (PDC). The physical scars from Menzies’ encounter with the Alexandra Palace drinks table after his 3-2 defeat against Charlie Manby at the Darts World Championship would be gone within a few weeks.
Manchester United on Monday blew the lead three times to miss out on moving up to fifth in the Premier League as AFC Bournemouth would not be beaten in a thrilling 4-4 draw at Old Trafford. United have lost just once in their past 10 games, but Ruben Amorim would be frustrated as more points at home were frittered away despite arguably the best attacking display of his reign in charge. Amad Diallo and Casemiro gave the hosts a halftime lead either side of Antoine Semenyo’s equalizer. Two Bournemouth goals from Evanilson and Marcus Tavernier in seven minutes at the start of the
‘HIGH STANDARD’: The Thunder are on track for a Finals-Cup double after they scored 22 three-pointers in equaling the best 25-game start to a season in NBA history The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday bagged a 16th straight victory, thrashing the Phoenix Suns 138-89 to romp into an NBA Cup semi-final clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the reigning NBA champions Thunder, who improved to 24-1 to equal the best 25-game start to a season in league history. They dominated from start to finish to book their place in the final four of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, where they are tomorrow to take on the Spurs. The New York Knicks and
RSS