Spanish football chiefs then announced a regular season match between Villarreal and FC Barcelona was being scheduled for Miami in December, sparking howls of protest from the continent’s top supporter advocacy group.
Football Supporters Europe (FSE) complained to the European Commission this week about “ongoing attempts to deterritorialise European football,” according to a letter obtained by POLITICO.
Opponents of the plan argue it undermines competitive integrity — with some clubs forfeiting crucial home matches due to the moves across the world — and ultimately starts to erode links between teams and their most loyal domestic supporters.
EU Sport Commissioner Glenn Micallef, who raised his “emotional” objection to European matches being played outside Europe during a POLITICO interview in May, met Wednesday with FSE head Ronan Evain and delivered a scathing critique of the Spanish and Italian plans.
“I’m deeply disappointed by proposals to stage domestic league matches outside Europe,” Micallef said on social media Wednesday.
“This is the first big stress test for governance since the Super League. Strong, community-based clubs are the heart of the European Sport Model. Moving competitions abroad isn’t innovation, it’s betrayal,” he added.
Those comments drew a furious response from the Italian league, which said it was “astonished” by Micallef’s “excessive position”, and Spain’s pugnacious league chief Javier Tebas, who countered, “I understand the concern, but let’s put things in perspective: we are talking about 1 match out of 380.”
He added: “There are thousands of fans around the world — including Europeans — who have the right to see their teams play live at least once.”
