Thibaut Courtois Blasts La Liga’s Decision To Take Barcelona-Villarreal Clash To Miami

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has slammed the plan to move Barcelona’s La Liga match against Villarreal to Miami, calling it a decision that “adulterates” the integrity of the Spanish top flight.

The league announced earlier this month that the December fixture would be played in the United States, marking the first time a competitive European league game would take place outside Europe. But Courtois believes the move completely undermines the spirit of fair competition.

“It’s totally adulterating the competition,” Courtois said during a press conference on Tuesday. “It’s easy to talk about the NFL and the NBA, they have 82 games, and it doesn’t change anything for them, and in the NFL, it’s voted for by the owners of the teams. Here it’s the opposite… they decided to do it and it adulterates the competition.”

The Belgian shot-stopper argued that Barcelona would gain an unfair edge by not having to face Villarreal at their notoriously difficult home ground, Estadio de la Cerámica.

“Villarreal away is a difficult game… everyone should play at home and away, apart from for force majeure,” he added.

His comments come amid growing resistance from players and fans. Over the weekend, the Spanish Footballers’ Association (AFE) organised protests against the move, with players across the league standing still for 15 seconds at the start of matches. But not all of those moments were shown on TV broadcasts, which Courtois condemned.

“Hiding it… is censorship and manipulation, and that’s not good at all,” he said.

Real Madrid have also expressed their disapproval, with reports in Spain claiming the club has lodged a complaint with the government. Head coach Xabi Alonso made his stance clear, backing Courtois and the club’s opposition to the decision.

“My opinion is clear… the club is defending their interests and we will see what happens,” Alonso said.

Despite the controversy, Courtois has something to celebrate. The veteran goalkeeper is set to make his 300th appearance for Real Madrid when they host Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday.

“I’m very proud of reaching that number,” the 33-year-old said. “When you’re a kid, you dream of playing a game for Real Madrid, and tomorrow it will be 300.”

Source: Naijanews