Official: Villarreal expresses dissatisfaction with LaLiga over the organization and management of overseas matches

Hupu, October 22nd, Villarreal Football Club officially issued a statement expressing dissatisfaction with LaLiga over the organization and management of the planned match against FC Barcelona in the United States.

Villarreal Football Club wishes to express its deep dissatisfaction to LaLiga over the poor organization and management of the 17th round of La Liga match against FC Barcelona scheduled for December 20 in Miami. The game ultimately failed to take place in the United States.

As mentioned by club president Fernando Roig and CEO Fernando Roig Negroles in multiple press conferences this season, Villarreal Football Club would like to review the complete timeline of the matter in detail:

Hosting La Liga events outside Spain is a plan independently initiated by La Liga to promote the global expansion of the event. This summer, La Liga proposed to Villarreal Football Club to invite the team to participate in the plan and host the match against FC Barcelona before the Christmas break. Villarreal Football Club has publicly stated many times before that it accepted the invitation because it believed that the plan was of great significance to the development of the club, especially in supporting the development of the event itself. However, it also proposed two core conditions that must be fulfilled as a prerequisite for the event:

1. The funds invested by La Liga for the plan should be used to compensate Villarreal Football Club’s season ticket holders who are directly affected by their inability to watch an event included in the season ticket. Compensation should be provided by providing them with the opportunity to go to Miami for free to watch the game, or refunding part of the season ticket cost.

2. Neither club participating in the event shall receive any direct financial benefits from La Liga. Funds should be prioritized to compensate Villarreal’s season ticket holders (as stated in point 1) and it would also be unfair to other La Liga clubs if this was not implemented.

La Liga understood and agreed to these requirements, and Villarreal Football Club subsequently followed its instructions to advance the application process between the parties. Because as the responsible organization for the event and the leader at all levels of the plan, La Liga itself is responsible for applying for all relevant licenses and communicating all relevant information to other clubs and other competent authorities such as the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the International Football Federation (FIFA), and the Spanish Football Players Association (AFE).

Since exploring the possibility this summer, Villarreal Football Club has been fully aware of the logistical complexities of an event of this scale and the preparations required for fans to travel across continents on a large scale. The club has always fully cooperated with La Liga and has repeatedly emphasized the importance of planning in advance and preparing as early as possible to meet all needs.

Due to La Liga’s delay in promoting and organizing the event, Villarreal Football Club has repeatedly expressed great concern to it and urged it to clarify basic and key matters such as event time confirmation and travel agency signing required for large-scale travel - these are necessary prerequisites for starting event organization work. In fact, a meeting was supposed to take place this Thursday, in which if these issues were not immediately resolved, the club would withdraw from the plan due to the lack of minimum guarantees in the organization of the tournament.

Last night, a few minutes before the start of the Champions League match between Villarreal Football Club and Manchester City Football Club at the Ceramic Stadium, the club received a phone call from La Liga: The event promoter decided to cancel the game, but the news must be kept confidential and will find the best time to be jointly announced by both parties - just like the process when the two parties jointly confirmed the hosting of the event on October 8.

However, a few minutes later, to the club's surprise, La Liga issued a unilateral statement announcing the cancellation of this event that was closely related to Villarreal - and the timing of the announcement coincided with the club's participation in a crucial game. This action shows complete disrespect for Villarreal Football Club and shows a lack of sensitivity and empathy.

Villarreal Football Club regrets that La Liga, as the event organizer, failed to better lead the management work, which ultimately led to the inability to hold the Miami La Liga event. The club has always believed that this tournament is a good opportunity for the club and La Liga to achieve international development. As far as the club itself is concerned, it will continue to uphold its consistent policies and concepts and continue to contribute to the development of itself and La Liga.