Why Barcelona were involved in protest against their own fixture in Miami | OneFootball

Barcelona star Pedri has provided an explanation for the decision of he and his teammates to join their fellow La Liga players in refusing to play the first 15 seconds of the club’s most recent outing.

A league-wide protest of course took place in Spain’s top-flight this past weekend.

As much came in response to the decision of La Liga and UEFA to sanction Barcelona’s December league meeting with Villarreal to be played in the USA.

The fixture, as things stand, will be La Liga’s first ever played outside of Spain.

The plan has sparked outrage across the country’s football landscape, culminating in a round of protests over the weekend.

For the first 15 seconds of each La Liga fixture, the two teams refused to move, amid a push to have the location of the Barca vs Villarreal matchup changed.

Also playing their part in as much were the two clubs involved in the saga, with Hansi Flick’s reigning Spanish champions having not budged for the opening moments of their fixture with Girona.

And Blaugrana midfielder Pedri, in quotes cited by Marca, has since provided an explanation as to why:

“We were not involved in this protest, but we did it out of respect for our colleagues.”

Conor Laird – GSFN