Surprise about Barcelona's match fate

Despite La Liga's tough stance, they eventually had to cancel plans to host the Barcelona and Villarreal match in the US.

Plans to bring the match between Barcelona and Villarreal to the US completely collapsed - Photo: AFP

In August 2025, the executive board of the Spanish Football League (La Liga) approved the match between Barcelona and Villarreal to take place in Miami (USA) in December this year.

Immediately, this plan faced a wave of fierce opposition from many coaches and players. Barcelona captain Frenkie De Jong did not hesitate to attack this because he thought that he and his teammates had to travel too far, leading to the possibility of injury.

Last weekend, the Spanish Professional Footballers' Association (EFA) called on players to protest against La Liga by standing still for the first 15 seconds of each match. At that time, the La Liga executive board still made many tough moves, almost declaring war on EFA.

However, in the end, they still had to give in to the players. On October 22, the Spanish Football Federation announced the cancellation of the match between Barcelona and Villarreal in the US due to "lack of time to organize". Thus, this match will still take place at Villarreal's home stadium, Estadio de la Ceramica.

Despite the decision, Spanish football officials remain disappointed, with La Liga president Javier Tebas saying it was a missed opportunity.

"Today, Spanish football has missed an opportunity to develop, go global and strengthen its future. The name 'protecting tradition' is used with a narrow, local perspective, while the real tradition of European football is being threatened by governing bodies that have destroyed competitions year after year," he said.

The reason La Liga wanted to bring matches to the US was to expand the market, thereby earning more money for the tournament. But this decision was hardly supported by any team.

Big clubs like Barcelona and Real Madrid have been facing a tight schedule, not only in La Liga but also in the Champions League.

DUC KHUE

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/bat-ngo-ve-so-phan-tran-dau-cua-barcelona-20251022174643174.htm