The 22 players on the pitch stood as still as a statue after the whistle blew for Barcelona’s home game against Girona in the ninth round of La Liga on Sunday, the silent protest, which lasted 15 seconds, swept through several La Liga games over the weekend as players responded to league plans to move the regular season from Spain to Miami.
La Liga Villarreal Real Bettis on Sunday as the players stood motionless in protest. (AFP)
The protest, co-ordinated and launched by the Spanish football players’ Association (AFE) , began with Oviedo’s match against the Spaniard on the 17th. According to the BBC, the same scenes have been seen in several matches, including Sevilla v Mallorca and Villarreal v Real Bettis. However, most TV viewers did not witness the scene, it is reported that the La Liga asked broadcasters to avoid showing static images of players.
The protest was triggered by La Liga’s decision to move the Villarreal home game against Barcelona to Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium. In its statement, the AFE criticised the league for“A lack of transparency, dialogue and consistency”, with such a momentous decision not agreed with the players. “We are against this game in Miami because it distorts the nature of the competition,” Real Madrid coach Xavi Alonso said in an interview. The league has not been agreed by all the clubs and has not been fully negotiated,” said Barca coach Frick, neither myself nor the players were satisfied with the arrangement, but“La Liga decided we had to play”.
On the players’ side, the AFE called the protest“A symbolic response to the league’s unilateral action”. Barcelona midfielder Pedro said the club joined the protest out of respect for their peers, despite not having received a direct request from the trade union. El Presidente de La Liga de La Liga, Luis Tebas, ha admitido en una lettere a la AFE que las protestancias Podrían“Negativos” y ha asegurado que“La derechos de los jugadores Están en una forma jurítica”. At the same time, the league has expressed a willingness to talk and explain the value of its overseas program. Opinion at the top of the club was sharply divided, with Bassat’s president, Roberto laporta, publicly supporting the overseas match, saying it was “Bound to be a big show”, while Real Madrid was adamantly opposed throughout, it said the move would have“Serious consequences”.
La Liga is not the only league to explore overseas tournaments. The Italian Football Federation have approved AC Milan’s Serie A game against Cuomo to be 2026 in Perth, Australia, in February. The Bundesliga has explicitly ruled out overseas matches and Musters, the Premier League chief executive, said the matter was “Not on the agenda”. UEFA has approved applications for overseas matches between La Liga and Serie A, but Infantino, UEFA president, has warned that such behaviour could lead to “Chaos” in the football calendar.