Plans to stage Barcelona and Villarreal’s league match in Miami have been cancelled, LaLiga has confirmed.
The controversial fixture was set to be played at the Hard Rock Stadium on December 20, which would have made it the first European league match in history to be staged overseas.
But amid heated criticism, including scathing comments from Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois on Tuesday, LaLiga has shelved its plans.
A statement read: “Following discussions with the promoter of the official LaLiga match in Miami, the latter has announced its decision to cancel the event due to the uncertainty surrounding Spain in recent weeks.
“LaLiga deeply regrets that this project, which represented a historic and unparalleled opportunity for the internationalization of Spanish football, cannot go ahead.”
Sky Sports News chief correspondent Kaveh Solhekol outlines why Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois believes La Liga’s plan for a game in Miami ‘distorts the competition’
Relevent Sports, the US-based organisers, said in a statement to Sky Sports News: “Relevent has informed LaLiga of the need to postpone the planned match between Villarreal CF and FC Barcelona in Miami on December 20.
“Given the current uncertainty in Spain, there is insufficient time to properly execute an event of this scale. It would also be irresponsible to begin selling tickets without a confirmed match in place.”
Last weekend, LaLiga players launched protests against the league’s decision with teams standing still for the first 15 seconds of matches.
Commenting on the Miami match ahead of Real’s visit of Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday, Courtois said: “LaLiga does whatever it wants because it suits them. This decision distorts the competition.
“Playing at home is not the same as playing away. In LaLiga, playing away is very difficult, as we saw against Real Sociedad and Getafe. Villarreal away is tough. It’s not fair to change the rules mid-season without consulting us.
“The NBA has 82 games, and the NFL’s owners collectively approve these decisions [to play matches abroad]. Here, LaLiga acts unilaterally. It’s not the same.”
On October 6, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin had approved moving of the LaLiga fixture and also sanctioned a Serie A match between AC Milan vs Como to be played in Australia, but described the decisions as “regrettable” and that it “shall not be seen as setting a precedent”.
