Real Madrid official: firmly opposes Barcelona vs Huang Qian overseas match. This move is illegal + destroys league fairness

Real Madrid officially issued a statement expressing its opposition to the overseas match of Barcelona vs Villarreal, believing that this violates the fairness of the league's home and away cycle, and applied to FIFA for not approving the game.

Real Madrid official statement:

Real Madrid Football Club solemnly declares to its members, supporters and football enthusiasts that it firmly opposes the proposal of Villarreal and Barcelona Football Club to hold the 17th round of the La Liga outside Spain.

The proposal, proposed without prior knowledge or consultation by the participating club, violates the principle of regional reciprocity in the dual-loop league (one home and away game), undermines the competitive balance, and provides an improper competitive advantage for the clubs that apply. The integrity of the

league requires that all competitions be played under the same conditions. Unilateral modification of this rule broke the equality among participating teams, damaged the legitimacy of the match results, and set an unacceptable precedent, opened the door to exceptions based on non-pure competitive interests, significantly affecting the integrity of sports and risking tampering with the game. If the proposal is implemented, the consequences will be extremely serious and will have a profound impact on the football community.

Any modification of such nature must be approved by all participating clubs and strictly comply with the national and international regulations governing the organization of the official competition.

In order to defend this principle, Real Madrid has taken the following three specific actions:

1. As a guarantee of international football rules, FIFA should not authorize the game without the consent of all participating clubs.

2. Submit a request to UEFA (UEFA) to serve as a guarantee of European competition integrity and consistency with FIFA norms, requesting the Spanish Football Association (RFEF) to withdraw or reject the application, reaffirming the norm established in 2018 that the official domestic league competitions are prohibited from being held abroad unless there are sufficiently and legitimate special circumstances (not applicable here).

3. Requested from the Spanish Higher Sports Commission that the necessary administrative license shall not be granted without unanimous consent.

Real Madrid reiterates its commitment to complying with national and international rules that ensure the fairness and good functioning of the official matches and will defend the implementation of these rules in all relevant institutions.

Event background:

Previously, at a meeting on August 11, 2025, the board of directors of the Spanish Football Association learned that Villarreal and Barcelona Football Club made a request for the 17th round of La Liga in the United States.

After receiving and verifying the relevant documents, with the approval of the board of directors, the Royal Football Association of Spain will submit an application to UEFA and initiate relevant procedures so that FIFA will finally authorize the game to be held at the "Hard Rock Stadium" in Miami, USA on December 20, 2025, in accordance with FIFA's international competition regulations and applicable rules approved by the Spanish Football Association.