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The controversy surrounding LaLiga’s plan to stage a regular-season fixture in the United States has escalated, with players across Spain’s top flight staging coordinated on-field protests this weekend.
Matches in the ninth round kicked off on Friday with a symbolic 15-second pause, as players from Real Oviedo and Espanyol stood motionless after the whistle, a gesture of defiance against the league’s decision to move Barcelona’s clash with Villarreal to Miami on 20 December.
However, the protest itself was conspicuously absent from television broadcasts. For the first 25 seconds of the Oviedo–Espanyol world feed, cameras avoided the pitch, cutting instead to shots outside the stadium before returning once the players resumed play.
The Association of Spanish Footballers (AFE) confirmed the coordinated action ahead of the round, accusing the league of mishandling the decision to take a domestic fixture abroad.
The union said in a statement that the “players will protest in a symbolic fashion to denounce the lack of transparency, dialogue and coherence of LaLiga regarding the possibility of playing a game in the United States.”
According to the AFE, captains from all 20 top-flight clubs backed the protest, though Barcelona and Villarreal, the teams scheduled to play in Miami, were asked not to participate. Even so, the union added that “they share the basic premise of the protest.”
The Miami fixture, years in the making, has become a flashpoint in Spanish football’s ongoing tug-of-war between commercial expansion and the interests of players and fans. While LaLiga frames the venture as a bold global outreach, many within the game see it as a symbolic loss of identity.
For now, the protests continue, silent, brief, but powerful, as players use the only stage they can to make their discontent clear.
Featured Image Credit: Pixabay / jorono, Instagram / @realoviedo
