There was a real war going on behind the scenes in Spain, with a first battle organized by the players last weekend. In order to protest against the organization of championship matches outside Spanish territory – with Villarreal-Barça which will be played in Miami in December as an example – the La Liga teams had decided not to play during the first seconds of the weekend matches. And La Liga management had simply decided not to broadcast these images, preferring to display advertising during the seconds following kick-off, or, in other cases, displaying banners “all for peace” to make it appear that the players' strike had another intention and denounced another cause…
Censorship on the part of La Liga which caused a scandal across the Pyrenees, and in this fight against the La Liga authorities, fans and journalists clearly sided with the players. “To hide or change what we are protesting for is to censor and manipulate”launched Thibaut Courtois this Tuesday. If the exits of high-profile players like the Real Madrid goalkeeper or Dani Carvajal, attacking Javier Tebas, have logically made headlines everywhere, players from practically all La Liga clubs have spoken out in recent days. “We are within our rights. The players are the most important in this business, with the fans we must be united. I hope La Liga will talk with us, we just want a meeting to talk, nothing more. I think we can get something positive out of it.”for example, launched Antoni Sivera, goalkeeper and captain of Alavés.
Towards a real strike?
It must be said that the demands of players from Spanish clubs were numerous. For some, there is a question of values ​​and ethics, believing that local supporters should not be deprived of matches, and that relocating matches is a huge lack of consideration. Others add that a trip across the Atlantic, with all that it entails, is an additional load of fatigue for players already exhausted by a hellish schedule. But the argument that comes up most often is that the competition will simply be distorted. Indeed, in this specific case, FC Barcelona would not have had to manage an always complicated trip to Villarreal, and would have played in the United States on “neutral ground”. One less away match that Real Madrid would have had, and we must also take into account that on American soil, Barça would have actually played as a local team given the enormous number of fans that the Blaugrana have on American soil.
How will the situation evolve? The AFE – players' union – will continue to meet with La Liga but does not intend to sit on its demands, as indicated A.S.since if the project is canceled, Javier Tebas and La Liga intend to go on the attack again in the future. In addition, according to the media, La Liga also sent a letter to the players to let them know that it could take legal measures in the event that new protests occur in the coming years. For its part, the Cadena SER had indicated that Dani Carvajal was ready to push the players to take a new step in this fight against La Liga. From there to evoking a general strike of players when the idea of ​​playing again outside Spanish territory comes back on the table? We're not there yet, but it's a hypothesis to take into account very seriously…
