Player protests across La Liga this weekend were not widely broadcast after the Spanish league asked TV companies not to show them, according to multiple people familiar with the request.

La Liga sides did not start play for the opening 15 seconds of matches after the Spanish Footballers’ Association (AFE) said on Friday the players were unhappy with the league’s plans to stage Villarreal’s home match against Barcelona, scheduled for December 20, in Miami, Florida.

During matches at Oviedo and Barcelona, TV cameras instead showed the exterior of the stadiums before returning to show the pitch when the 15-second protests concluded. At other games, the aerial camera zoomed in on the centre circle, rather than a wide angle showing both sets of players standing still.

In Sunday’s match between Elche and Athletic Club, however, Spanish broadcaster DAZN showed a wide angle of all 22 players motionless for the 15 seconds.

When Real Madrid kicked off at Getafe, fans’ chants protesting against the game abroad could be heard inside the stadium but were inaudible on TV broadcasts. Movistar in Spain and DAZN’s English-language coverage, however, showed the players standing still before the game got underway.

La Liga matches are produced by the company HBS, following a previous agreement with Mediapro. HBS did not respond to a request for comment, and La Liga declined to comment.

The AFE said the protests had the backing of captains across Spain’s top flight and were a “symbolic protest against La Liga’s lack of transparency, dialogue and consistency” over its decision to play a match abroad.

The union added the move was rejecting “a project that does not have the approval of the main players in our sport” in the face of “La Liga’s constant refusals and unrealistic proposals”.

No regular-season league matches in European football have previously been moved abroad but earlier this month, UEFA “regrettably” approved requests from La Liga and Italy’s Serie A to do so due to “regulatory gaps at global level”.

Friday night’s gameweek-opener between Oviedo and Espanyol set the precedent for a 15-second delay, with that gesture repeated throughout Saturday’s games between Sevilla-Mallorca and Villarreal-Real Betis.

The AFE had said on Friday that Barcelona and Villarreal would not be involved in the initiative as “the clubs requesting the project”, but their players also stood motionless for 15 seconds in their games. “We were not involved in this protest, but we did it out of respect for our fellow footballers,” Barcelona midfielder Pedri said after his side’s win against Girona.

During the 15-second delay, applause could be heard from supporters in each stadium while there were also audible whistles.

Villarreal players were not originally part of the protest but joined their Betis counterparts in standing still for 15 seconds (Jose Jordan/AFP via Getty Images)

What did TV broadcasts show instead?

At the exact moment of kick-off, a graphic promoting La Liga’s new ‘commitment to peace’ initiative has been shown on screen with commentators reading out a script to detail La Liga’s commitment to peace in the Middle East. The league has said the initiative relates to “the Middle East conflict and aims to highlight the importance of dialogue and empathy, universal values that are also central to sport”.

At several matches, including Barcelona’s game against Girona, and Elche against Athletic Club, commentators referenced the protests — which were not shown — following the AFE statement. The reason for the stoppage was also referenced on Movistar at the start of Getafe against Real Madrid.

After the AFE confirmed the protests on Friday, La Liga said it wanted all parties to “return to useful and constructive dialogue … with respect for the facts and the rules”.

On Thursday, La Liga president Javier Tebas wrote a letter, seen by The Athletic, to his AFE counterpart David Aganzo, in which he said the planned strike could lead to “unwanted consequences” for players involved, both individually and collectively.

Tebas said the protests did “not meet the constitutional and regulatory requirements regarding the calling of a meeting, advance notice, and guarantees inherent to the right to strike”. The league president said his “priority remains preserving the law and guaranteeing the rights of footballers within a framework of dialogue and cooperation”.

What are the rules?

La Liga’s regulations for television broadcasting came into force in the 2016-17 season. The purpose of these is to “promote the competition and increase its visibility, especially among national and international television operators”.

Each game is assigned a match director and assistant match director, who are responsible for the operational broadcast of each game and oversee the implementation of the established protocols; before, during and after the game.

The match directors are responsible for raising any substantial issues or incidents that may arise during the match to La Liga.

La Liga’s broadcast regulations state that clubs must inform the league of any formal event — such as a tribute, gesture, minute of silence or shirts with messages — ahead of the match, as to “integrate it into the match countdown and avoid potential delays”. The guidance adds that any such communication must be raised to “allow television production to be informed of the event’s progress and motivation, thus facilitating greater coverage”. In this instance, it was not clubs but the players’ union who organised the protest.

Furthermore, interviews with players and coaches “shall focus on sporting topics related to the match in question”.

For Friday’s match between Oviedo and Espanyol, the first to have the 15-second protest, there was no reference to the episode in the referee’s official report, which is submitted after the game. However, subsequent match referee reports over the weekend have included details of the delays.

The protests continued into Sunday with Elche’s game against Athletic Club (Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images)

What have players and coaches said?

The subject of the match in Miami has continued to be raised in interviews with players and coaches.

Real Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso said at a press conference on Saturday that he was against the idea of a match abroad because “it distorts the competition”, criticising the lack of communication with clubs and players.

“There has been no unanimity among the teams to play on neutral ground, there has been no consultation,” Alonso said ahead of his side’s match against Getafe. “The protests are positive because it is something that many clubs feel. If there is unanimity, then go ahead (with taking games abroad), but that is not the case.”

Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick said on Friday that he and his players were “not happy” with a league game abroad but “La Liga decided that we will play this game”.

Earlier this month, Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong expressed his opposition to the plans to host the club’s La Liga fixture against Villarreal in Miami, criticising the additional travel and the neutral venue for what is supposed to be an away match. Barcelona president Joan Laporta said he respected De Jong’s opinion but explained “the club will play wherever La Liga tells them to”. Speaking to Spanish radio station Cadena SER, Laporta cited the commercial opportunities from the American market as a benefit to playing the fixture in Miami.

What about other leagues?

Serie A is also hopeful of moving a match outside Italy, with hopes of staging February’s scheduled match between AC Milan and Como in Perth, Australia.

The German Football League (DFL) has ruled out moving any Bundesliga matches abroad, while England’s Premier League considered playing a round of fixtures known as the ‘39th game’ outside of the United Kingdom in 2008 but abandoned the idea after fan backlash.

In August, the Premier League’s chief executive Richard Masters said of games abroad: “It’s not anywhere near my in-tray and it’s not a debate around our table.”

Additional contributor: Guillermo Rai