Real Madrid Release Damning Statement Regarding Scheduled La Liga Game in the US

The big news coming out of Spain regarding soccer is the decision made by the Spanish FA regarding the game between Villareal and Barcelona in December. They have agreed that the match scheduled to be played at Villarreal's Estadio de la Ceramica will now be played in Miami, United States.

It would be the first European league fixture to be played abroad if it were to go ahead. It's a decision that may not just affect the Spanish league, but others, and many are not happy with the decision.

The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has approved the request for December’s La Liga fixture between Villarreal and Barcelona be played in Miami.

Following a meeting of the RFEF’s board of directors on Monday, the federation said it had received the documentation regarding the… https://t.co/g3bifkQiWO pic.twitter.com/s4UpzLzKCn — The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) August 11, 2025

One of those to voice their dissatisfaction is Barcelona's rivals Real Madrid. They released a lengthy statement after the news broke. They appealed to FIFA, UEFA, and CSD, with the former having a rule in place that prohibits domestic league games from being played abroad.

Real Madrid Release Statement Regarding the Spanish FA's Decision

IMAGO / Xinhua

The white club said they firmly rejected the proposal and said the integrity of the competition was thrown into jeopardy, amongst other comments in the statement released on the club website.

Real Madrid C.F. would like to make it clear to its members, supporters, and football fans in general that it firmly rejects the proposal to play the National First Division League Championship match between Villarreal C.F. and F.C. Barcelona on match day 17 outside Spain.

The measure, which was taken without prior information or consultation of the clubs participating in the competition, infringes the essential principle of territorial reciprocity, which applies in two-legged league competitions (one match at home and the other at the home of the opposing team), upsetting the competitive balance and giving an undue sporting advantage to the applicant clubs.

The integrity of the competition requires that all matches take place under the same conditions for all teams. Unilaterally modifying this regime breaks the equality between contenders, compromises the legitimacy of the results, and sets an unacceptable precedent that opens the door to exceptions based on non-sporting interests, clearly affecting sporting integrity and risking the adulteration of the competition. If this proposal were to be carried out, its consequences would be so serious that it would be a turning point in the world of football. Real Madrid statement

The statement continued:

Any modification of this nature must, in any case, have the express and unanimous agreement of all the clubs participating in the competition, as well as strictly respecting the national and international rules governing the organisation of official competitions.

In defence of this principle, Real Madrid has already taken three specific actions:

1. Request to FIFA, as guarantor of the international rules of football, not to authorise the holding of the match without the prior consent of all the clubs participating in the competition.

2. Request to UEFA, as guarantor of the integrity of European competitions and regulatory consistency with FIFA, to urge the RFEF to withdraw or deny the request, reaffirming the criterion established in 2018 that prevents official matches in domestic competitions from being played outside national territory, except in duly justified exceptional circumstances, which are not present here.

3. Request to the Consejo Superior de Deportes (Spanish High Sports Council) not to grant the necessary administrative authorisation without such unanimous consent.

Real Madrid reaffirms its commitment to respect the national and international rules that guarantee the fairness and proper functioning of official competitions, and will defend its compliance with them before all competent bodies. Real Madrid

IMAGO / Europa Press

We will see if the statement gets a response from FIFA and others, with many fans also against the idea of a game being played outside of Spain.

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