Real Madrid CF has issued an official statement, voicing the strongest opposition to the proposed staging of La Liga’s Round 17 clash between Villarreal and Barcelona outside Spain, branding the decision a "dangerous watershed for football."
The club argues the plan was pushed forward without prior notification or consultation with participating clubs, violating the reciprocal geographic principle of the home-and-away league format (one home, one away). This, it claims, undermines competitive balance and grants undue sporting advantages to the applying clubs.
"Integrity of competitions demands all matches be played under equal conditions," the statement stresses. "Unilaterally altering this system breaks competitive equality, taints the legitimacy of results, and sets an unacceptable precedent for exceptions based on non-sporting interests—risking ‘manipulation’ of events."
To defend these principles, Real Madrid has taken three concrete steps:
1.Filed a request with FIFA, as guardian of global football rules, to reject approval for the match without prior consent from all participating clubs.
2.Appealed to UEFA, tasked with upholding European competition integrity and alignment with FIFA rules, urging the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) to withdraw or deny the application. It also calls for reaffirming UEFA’s 2018 standard: domestic official matches should not be held abroad unless under exceptional, fully justified circumstances—none of which apply here.
3.Petitioned Spain’s Higher Sports Council to withhold necessary administrative approval without unanimous consent.
Real Madrid reaffirms its commitment to respecting domestic and international rules safeguarding fairness and proper operation of official competitions, vowing to defend their enforcement before all competent authorities.
