Real Madrid star Thibaut Courtois has launched a scathing attack on La Liga over the decision to stage Barcelona’s away game against Villarreal in Miami on December 20.
The match between the two top-flight teams will take place at the Hard Rock Stadium and will be the first La Liga fixture to be held outside Spain.
While UEFA has granted permission for the Spanish league to stage a game abroad this winter, other teams have expressed their opposition to the plan.
Speaking ahead of Los Blancos’ Champions League game against Juventus, Courtois accused La Liga of bypassing clubs in the decision-making process.
“La Liga does whatever it wants because it suits them,” he said (per the Guardian). “This decision distorts the competition. Playing at home is not the same as playing away.
Playing away is very difficult in La Liga, 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.”
Players made their feelings known about La Liga’s decision by standing motionless at kick-offs across all games.
But their protests were ignored by broadcasters, who showed an aerial view of the stadiums accompanied by a banner that read ‘commitment to peace’.
Courtois slammed La Liga president Javier Tebas, saying ‘hiding the protests is censorship and manipulation’.
Tebas has long been pushing for league games to be played abroad.
La Liga reached an agreement with Relevent Sports to stage fixtures in Miami in 2018, but the plan was blocked following strong opposition from FIFA, UEFA and several clubs.
Another attempt in 2019 to move a fixture between Barcelona and Girona was also knocked back.
