In Spanish men’s football, the players protest the planned league game in Miami. The world feed censored the images.
For 15 seconds football in Spain stood still. Not for a moment of silence, but as a sign of rebellion: players nationwide protest against “lack of transparency and missing dialogue” in relocating a league game to the USA. In December, FC Barcelona is set to play an away game that is somewhat unusual: against Villarreal, for the first time in Miami, USA. It is about the usual, capitalist expansion, new markets for financially strained Spanish football, TV rivalry with the runaway Premier League, and so on. UEFA has given the green light. The shock is immense.
For every match up to press time, 15 seconds of silence were observed. Not only at neutral locations like Oviedo or Seville, but even Barcelona players themselves joined in for the home match against Girona, albeit with a little diplomatic caution. “We were not part of the protest, but we felt that out of respect for our professional colleagues we should participate,” said midfielder Pedri. The TV world feed is meanwhile trying to render the resistance invisible: the actions were not visible. Instead, broadcasters showed, for example, an exterior view of the stadium or the center circle. At least some commentators did point to the incident.
This censorship did little to help in an era of cell phone cameras. And the protests were quickly talked about everywhere anyway. For as different as the interests may be, no one was really keen to play: for the involved players, the long-haul flight means a significant extra burden in an already crowded calendar, especially since Barcelona will shortly afterward fly to the Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.
A Lot of Solidarity
The other teams, not least Villarreal, suspect a competitive advantage for Barcelona at Messi’s home venue and thus a manipulation in the championship race. The players’ union protests against the lack of dialogue. And fans protest against their exclusion and the loss of local ties. Only the climate catastrophe seems not to be considered important by anyone.
Many coaches have expressed solidarity with the players, including Diego Simeone, Xabi Alonso, and Bilbao’s coach Ernesto Valverde. Barca coach Hansi Flick meanwhile stated that his players are not happy, he is not happy, but La Liga has simply decided. Happy is only Barca president Joan Laporta. He says: “The game will definitely be a big show.”
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