La Liga President Javier Tebas Ignores Real Madrid's Complaints Over Plans to Host Match in Miami
La Liga president Javier Tebas has ignored Real Madrid's complaints over plans to host a league match in Miami in 2019.
La Liga decided that Barcelona's away fixture against Catalan neighbours Girona will be hosted in Miami after both clubs agreed in principle to the idea and have given written confirmation to the Spanish football federation.
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La Liga came to an agreement with Relevant Sports for the sponsorship of the league in North America for the next 15 years, which is why the idea for matches to be hosted in the U.S. has come to fruition.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has previously stated that his club would categorically refuse to play any La Liga matches abroad, but Tebas has been quick to respond to the threat.
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He claimed, as per AS: “Firstly, playing a game in Miami is voluntary and no club is obliged to do so. Secondly, I would like to point out that this proposal to play La Liga games in the USA came into being over a year ago with exactly the same company that organises Real Madrid’s pre-season tours of the United States."
Tebas, as quoted by journalist Juan Arango, has furthered this by saying, "If Real Madrid do not want to go to Miami, they don't have to, Barcelona will."
Real Madrid are not alone in their complaints about the fixture with both the Spanish football federation and the Spanish football player's union both expressing their distaste with the plan to move games over to the USA.
As it stands, Tebas and La Liga are holding firm and clearly have no plans to change their minds any time soon.
