More players stand still as La Liga protests continue

As a result of protests over the Spanish league’s decision to play a game in Miami, players in La Liga on Saturday continued to hold back for the first 15 seconds of matches.

Following the precedent set by Oviedo and Espanyol on Friday evening, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, who both played away games against Girona and Osasuna, respectively, followed with the high-profile games.

Similar protests took place in Villarreal and Sevilla vs. Mallorca, respectively.

Instead of capturing a wide field and displaying players from both teams standing still, TV broadcasts focused more on the center circle in the other games.

The Spanish football federation (RFEF) approved plans to move Villarreal’s game against Barcelona to the Hard Rock Stadium on December 20th, which sparked unrest in Spain.

The Spanish Footballers’ Association (AFE) stated in a statement that they had coordinated with the La Liga club captains to “protest symbolically” against the league’s “lack of transparency, dialogue, and coherence” with each other.

The AFE did not request that players from Barcelona and Villarreal take part in the protests in order to prevent it being “interpreted as a possible measure against any club,” but they did anyway.

Barcelona midfielder Pedri said, “We were not part of the protest], but we felt that we needed to follow along out of respect for our fellow professionals.”

La Liga responded to AFE’s accusations this week by expressing a “willingness to meet” with the AFE to “foster useful dialogue that allows explaining the project.”

This weekend’s final La Liga games will feature demonstrations, according to the AFE.

Xabi Alonso, the head coach of Real Madrid’s side, said: “We are against the]Miami] match. It allegedly distorts the competition, in our opinion.

It is not possible to play it on neutral ground without unanimity or consultation. The sentiment and protests are both positive.

“We think there might be unanimity, but that’s not the case.”

In response to “La Liga’s consistent refusals and unrealistic proposals,” the AFE stated that it was rejecting “a project that does not have the approval of the main players in our sport.”

They added that La Liga needs to “create a table where all information is shared and the project’s unique characteristics are examined,” where footballers’ concerns are addressed, and their labor rights are protected, and compliance with current regulations are assured.

La Liga has been contacted by the BBC for comment.

The Italian football federation (FIGC) approved a Serie A game between AC Milan and Como in February, and the Miami game was confirmed.

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick stated on Friday that “La Liga decided that we will play this game” that his “players are not happy” and “not happy”.

Real and Uefa both “reluctantly” approved the decision while Real expressed opposition when the fixture was revealed, saying the consequences would be “so serious.”