Players refused to move for the first 15 seconds of matches in La Liga on Saturday as protests at the Spanish league’s decision to stage a game in Miami continued.
The high-profile fixtures involving Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, who had home games against Girona and Osasuna respectively, followed the precedent set by Oviedo and Espanyol on Friday evening.
There were identical protests at Sevilla v Mallorca and Villarreal v Real Betis.
As had happened in the match between Oviedo and Espanyol, television cameras for Barcelona’s game cut away to show the exterior of the stadium, denying audiences a view of the protest.
In the other fixtures, TV broadcasts focused closely from directly above on the centre circle, instead of taking a wide angle of the field and showing players from both teams standing still.
In August, the Spanish football federation (RFEF) approved plans to move Villarreal’s fixture against Barcelona to the Hard Rock Stadium on 20 December – a decision which sparked discontent in Spain.
The Spanish Footballers’ Association (AFE) said in a statement they had co-ordinated with the captains of each La Liga club to “protest symbolically” against the league’s “lack of transparency, dialogue and coherence”.
The AFE had not asked Barcelona and Villarreal players to participate in the protests to avoid it being “interpreted as a possible measure against any club”, but they did so anyway.
“We were not part of the [protest] but we felt that we needed to follow along out of respect for our fellow professionals,” said Barcelona midfielder Pedri.
La Liga challenged the accusations, external made by AFE this week, stating a “willingness to meet” with the AFE to “foster useful dialogue that allows explaining the project”.
The AFE said demonstrations will take place at the remaining La Liga games this weekend.
Real Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso, whose side play at Getafe on Sunday, said: “We are against the [Miami] match. We believe it distorts the competition.
“There hasn’t been unanimity or consultation for it to be played on neutral ground. The protests are positive and that sentiment is positive.
“We believe it could happen if there were unanimity, but that’s not the case.”
The AFE said it was rejecting “a project that does not have the approval of the main players in our sport” in the face of “La Liga’s constant refusals and unrealistic proposals”.
They added that La Liga needs to create a “negotiating table in which all information is shared and the exceptional characteristics of the project are analysed”, where the “concerns of the footballers are addressed, and the protection of their labour rights and compliance with current regulations are guaranteed”.
The BBC has contacted La Liga for comment.
Confirmation of the Miami game followed a decision by the Italian football federation (FIGC) to sanction a Serie A match between AC Milan and Como to be played in Perth, Australia, in February.
On Friday, Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said his “players are not happy” and he was “not happy” but “La Liga decided that we will play this game”.
Real expressed opposition when the fixture was announced, saying the consequences would be “so serious”, while Uefa “reluctantly” approved the move.
This week RFEF president Rafael Louzan said the move was “good for football”, while Barcelona president Joan Laporta said the match will “definitely be a great show”.
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