Villarreal CF expresses its discontent with LaLiga over its handling of the organisation of the match that was to be played in the United States against FC Barcelona
Villarreal CF wishes to express its deep discontent with LaLiga for the poor management of the organisation of the match that was set to take place in Miami against FC Barcelona on 20th December, corresponding to Matchday 17, which ultimately will not be held in the United States.
As has already been stated on several occasions this season by the club president, Fernando Roig, and the CEO, Fernando Roig Negueroles, Villarreal CF would like to recall in detail the full timeline of events surrounding this matter:
The project to play a LaLiga match outside Spain is an initiative born from LaLiga itself as part of its efforts to expand the competition globally. This summer, LaLiga proposed that Villarreal CF take part and act as the host team for the fixture against FC Barcelona before the Christmas break. Villarreal CF, as has been publicly emphasised on several occasions, agreed to take part because it considers this project to be very positive for the club’s growth and, above all, for contributing to the development of the competition. However, the club established two fundamental and binding conditions for the match to go ahead:
- That the funds allocated by LaLiga for this initiative be used to compensate Villarreal CF season-ticket holders, who are the real parties affected by missing one of the matches included in their season ticket, by either offering them the opportunity to travel to Miami free of charge to watch the match or refunding part of the season-ticket cost.
- That neither of the two participating clubs receive any direct financial benefit from LaLiga for playing the match, since the money should go towards compensating Villarreal CF season-ticket holders — as specified in point 1 — and because it would otherwise be unfair to the rest of the LaLiga clubs.
LaLiga accepted and agreed to these requests, and Villarreal CF proceeded to follow its instructions to formalise the proposal between all parties involved, since it is LaLiga itself, as the body responsible and leading the initiative at all levels, that must apply for the corresponding authorisations and inform the other clubs and the relevant governing bodies, such as the RFEF, UEFA, FIFA and AFE.
From the very beginning, when the possibility was first discussed in the summer, Villarreal CF, fully aware of the logistical complexity of a match of such scale and of what a large-scale trip for supporters overseas entails, placed itself completely at LaLiga’s disposal and repeatedly stressed the importance of working in advance and with proper planning to ensure that all requirements could be met.
Due to the lack of progress in LaLiga’s organisation of the event, Villarreal CF repeatedly expressed its growing concern to the body and urged it to define key and essential aspects such as confirming the match time and contracting a travel agency to handle an operation of this scale, both vital steps to begin organising the trip. In fact, a meeting was scheduled for this Thursday in which, if those issues were not immediately resolved, the club planned to withdraw from the project as the minimum organisational conditions were not being guaranteed.
Last night, just minutes before the start of Villarreal CF’s UEFA Champions League match against Manchester City at the Estadio de la Cerámica, the club was informed by LaLiga via a phone call that the match was being cancelled by decision of the promoting company. However, LaLiga specified that this information was confidential and that an appropriate time would be found to announce it jointly, as had been done when the confirmation of the match was communicated on 8th October.
Nevertheless, only a few minutes later and to the club’s surprise, LaLiga decided to release a unilateral statement announcing the cancellation of the fixture involving Villarreal CF, and did so while the team was playing such an important match, showing a complete lack of respect, as well as a lack of sensitivity and empathy towards the club.
Villarreal CF regrets that LaLiga, as the organiser, failed to show better leadership in managing the project and that the LaLiga match in Miami will ultimately not go ahead, as the club believes it represented a great opportunity for the international growth of both the clubs and LaLiga itself. The institution will, however, continue to uphold its philosophy and commitment to contributing to the ongoing development of both the club and the competition.
