SPAIN-ARCHITECTURE-SPORT VENUE-STADIUM
Real Madrid have published an official announcement on their website explaining why the club is against LaLiga’s project of the match between Villarreal and Barcelona taking place in the United States.
Per Realmadrid.com
Real Madrid C. F. wishes to express to its members, supporters and football fans in general its strongest rejection of the proposal to play the match corresponding to matchday 17 of the First Division National League Championship between Villarreal C. F. and F. C. Barcelona outside Spain.
The measure, promoted without information or prior consultation with the clubs participating in said competition, breaches the essential principle of territorial reciprocity that governs double round–robin league competitions (one match at home and the other at the opponent’s), disturbing competitive balance and granting an undue sporting advantage to the requesting clubs.
The integrity of the competition requires that all matches be held under the same conditions for all teams. Unilaterally altering this arrangement undermines equality between opponents, compromises the legitimacy of the results and sets an unacceptable precedent that opens the door to exceptions based on interests unrelated to the purely sporting, clearly affecting sporting integrity and risking the adulteration of the competition. If this proposal were carried out, its consequences would be so serious that they would mark a before and after for the world of football.
Any modification of this nature must, in any case, have the express and unanimous agreement of all clubs participating in the competition, as well as strictly respect the national and international rules that govern the organization of official competitions.
In defense of this principle, Real Madrid has already taken three concrete actions:
A request to FIFA so that, as guarantor of international football rules, it does not authorize the holding of the match without the prior consent of all clubs participating in the competition.
A request to UEFA so that, as guarantor of the integrity of European competitions and of normative coherence with FIFA, it urges the RFEF to withdraw or deny the request, reaffirming the criterion established in 2018 that prevents official domestic competition matches from being played outside national territory, except in duly justified exceptional circumstances, which do not exist in this case.
A request to the Consejo Superior de Deportes so that it does not grant the necessary administrative authorization without such unanimous consent.
Real Madrid reaffirms its commitment to respecting the national and international rules that guarantee fairness and the proper functioning of official competitions, and will defend their compliance before all competent bodies.