Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has hit out at LaLiga’s plans to hold Villarreal vs Barcelona match in the USA in December.
Villarreal vs Barcelona is set to be played at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on December 20, which would make it the first European league match in history to be staged overseas.
On October 6, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin 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”.
To show their disappointment over the decision, last weekend, LaLiga players protested 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.”
Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone added: “I won’t believe it until I see it.
“The home team loses the advantage. Their fans won’t be there, and they have to travel thousands of miles.
“We need to respect the fans.”
Earlier on Friday, Barcelona coach Hansi Flick and his players were not pleased at having to travel over 7,000km to play a regular season game.
“My players are not happy, I am not happy, but LaLiga decided that we will play this game,” Flick said.
However, Barcelona president Joan Laporta has defended the move by saying it represents an opportunity to further push into the American sports market.
Similarly, LaLiga president Javier Tebas says the game aboard is a key to boosting “revenues in the mid-to-long-term” and increasing the value of his competition’s television rights, which lag behind those of England’s Premier League.
