Barcelona – Atletico in Miami returns to the arena with many doubts, without AFE and with the threat of a challenge | Relief

On August 15, Relevo reported that Javier Tebas was returning to action in an attempt to take a La Liga match abroad. This is nothing new. This is exactly what I meant Barcelona-Atlético in the 18th round of this seasonwhich is due to take place on December 21, will move to the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, since many years ago he tried unsuccessfully and with a referee’s defeat to celebrate the matches of Barça-Girona (January 26, 2019) and Villarreal-Atlético (December 8 of that same year). However, despite a gentleman’s agreement between the president of the employers’ association and Pedro Rocha (president of the federation, now disqualified), pessimism began to spread due to the uncertainty experienced in the RFEF. This was confirmed by Tebas himself in an interview with ESPN three weeks ago. If the media has now once again dusted off this hidden dream in the offices, it is because, at the insistence of La Liga, the clubs and Relevent, Some postponed fixtures have been resumed and FIFA has raised its hand somewhat in relation to the past. And yet there is little confidence. There are still more desires and gaps than realities.

All organizations featured in this story acknowledge: with a small mouth and “off the record” that there have been movements in recent days that have renewed hope to hold a meeting of this magnitude behind walls. Among other things, it had already been agreed that the duel, if held there, would take place on December 21st, and not on the 22nd, since the Dolphins-San Francisco game was being played on that day, and another one would take place on the 20th university competition. , Another novelty in the case is that the television cameramen were forced to take the operational plan out of the box. that they were preparing three months ago for an event of this magnitude which Relevent Sports has been coordinating for five years, a promoter with whom LaLiga has signed a 15-year agreement.

But beyond that, and the fact that La Liga is tight-lipped about many details regarding when this move could be made, there are still many more to be made. And in some cases, implementing them will not be easy.

The Federation admits that something was stirred up, but at the same time they assure that no one contacted them recently request appropriate permission to allow Barça-Athleti to be transported to the United States. Moreover, although they admit that this movement may well occur in the near future, and that The fact that there is no elected president and the institution is in the middle of an election process does not pose any inconvenience.acknowledges that this is not an ideal situation. La Liga’s path, after several legal setbacks under the leadership of Luis Rubiales, has many difficulties to achieve its goal.

According to various sources consulted in Las Rosas, the matter will definitely have to go through the Management Commission.which is the highest body that currently governs the house. And even some provisions of competition rules will have to be adjusted, which cannot be achieved overnight. AND It is not easy to approve such an important proposal. Moreover, a few months ago Pedro Rocha already made large-scale decisions that were challenged. and for which he is now paying the price (banned for two years) after a sanction imposed by the Sports Administrative Tribunal (TAD). A decision that Tebas criticized and for which he defended the Extremaduran.

Except, As Relevo has learned, Miguel Angel Galan, director of CENAFE and president of the Association for Democracy and Transparency in Sports, is immediately going to challenge this “Miami Plan”.if it is finally implemented, and even demand a suspension of the competition in the courts, demanding precautionary measures in the National Court. Galan justifies his intentions with a look at the past: “Given the precedent of moving the Spanish Super Cup to Arabia, with Rubiales and Pique’s company accused of business corruption, there is no legal place for attempting to stage a public competition abroad without the permission of the Supreme Sports Council.” LaLiga is consoled by the fact that the RFEF manager, formed last Friday under Maria de los Angeles García Chávez, follows Rocha’s tenets. and that there is a Baron Raphael Luzan, close to Thebes and his great supporter there. But even here there is no clarity. The commission wants to sign only what is essential.

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Here, The relationship between institutions is where many of the characters in this story see the greatest difficulty in solving this problem. The deal between La Liga and CSD was not the best, although Tebas was present today at the informative breakfast that Uribes and Europa Press offered in Madrid and on some issues they agreed… However, this has nothing to do with , when Miguel Cardenal was in charge. AND Even between La Liga and FIFA and, to a lesser extent, UEFA, sparks flew over criticism of the calendar.

and holding some competitions. For this reason, although the rules of the highest international organizations already provide for the possibility of matches in national competitions being played outside the respective countries, No one is in a hurry to do someone a favor and make their life difficult in an attempt.

Actually, Now there are those who ask FIFA about this case and clarify that everything will depend on UEFA. And when the same sources involved in the negotiations contact UEFA, they explain that it depends solely and exclusively on FIFA. At least both institutions agree on one thing: it all depends on the political issue. Both FIFA and UEFA, if they give their permission – and the American Confederation, the American Federation and MLS must also give – make it clear that if the Spanish government opposes Tebas’s aspirations, it will intervene and it will be reported.

But that’s not all. The Association of Spanish Footballers (AFE) insists that it has not received any calls and has no information about this long-standing desire of La Liga. And although others believe that this is a secondary issue, in the union they are considered as a basic part in this entire mechanism. In fact, for the first attempts of 2019 they were already in a head-on confrontation, going so far as to hold a captains’ meeting in Madrid on August 22, 2018 – led by Sergio Ramos, Nacho, Busquets, Sergi Roberto, Juanfran, Koke and 19 other captains – stand up and even threaten to go on strike for disagreeing with the main characters of this racket. “We don’t understand unilateral decisions. Once again we feel excluded from decision-making on issues that affect us,” they condemned.

LaLiga then invited AFE to accept its plan. improving conditions for players through changes to the Collective Bargaining Agreement and compensation for organizing a 15-day “stage” in Miami and New York for 25 unemployed players with the goal of finding a team in Major League Soccer (MLS). And he did the same with the fans through the clubs: offered free travel for 1,500 Girona, Barcelona, ​​Villarreal and Atlético fans at the time, compensation in the form of tickets, 20% discount on season tickets for traveling members – for not enjoying the match at home – and 40% for they won’t fly…). But not even for those. The answer was always no. This time there will be new and better compensation. The biggest challenge will be finding so many flights on these dates.

New times

Now, although the relationship between Javier Tebas and David Aganzo is excellent, La Liga and AFE will have to sit down and reach an agreement. One of the biggest complaints from footballers at the moment is how busy their games are. and such a busy schedule. Hence the spate of public demonstrations led a month ago by Rodrigo, the Manchester City international midfielder. Therefore, there must be a coherent strategy with compensations so that that the AFE agreed to play the match six hours less than in Spain, at 25 degrees and with significant wear and tear going back and forth. The AFE has a lot of weight in the RFEF Assembly and no one wants to anger the players now before the important elections in Football City.

The clubs gave the go-ahead despite Barça still having concerns about the financial implications. Tebas’s relationship with Barça has improved significantly since the controversy caused Messi case And there was always complete mutual understanding with Atlético. Miguel Angel Gil Marin is the first vice-president of La Liga, and Oscar Maio, the right-hand man of the La Liga coach, joined the Metropolitano just a few months ago as general director of operations. The duel on the last day of December will mean a very interesting economic injection for Barça and Atlético.. In the case of the Blaugrana club, even more so since, despite accounting problems, reports suggested a return to the Camp Nou in March 2025, meaning one less game would be played in Montjuïc. At Atleti, this would help offset the high costs of signing contracts.