La Liga threatens court action as Fifa vows to block Miami match

La Liga vowed to take its bid to stage matches in the United States to court yesterday after Fifa announced it would block Barcelona’s fixture against Girona from being played in Miami.

Spanish league chiefs said the matter would be referred to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after Fifa president Gianni Infantino said that domestic matches should not be played overseas.

“Official games of a league must be played inside the country,” he told a news conference in Rwanda after a Fifa council meeting which discussed the plan.

However, La Liga remains determined to move the game, due to be played on Jan 26, to Miami, despite concern from the Spanish football association and the players’ union.

“Should we receive official notification from Fifa that they prohibit the match, we will take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) urgently,” La Liga said.

Infantino added: “The Fifa council discussed this matter. The council emphasised the sporting principle that official league matches must be played within the territory of the respective association.”

La Liga agreed to play one game a season in the US as part of a 15-year deal with media company Relevent. League president Javier Tebas said in July that he wanted to play matches overseas in an effort to raise the profile and marketability of Spanish football.

At the Rwanda summit, Fifa put plans on hold for a lucrative new Club World Cup and Nations League after intense European opposition. Instead, a “task force” will be appointed to examine the implications for football globally.

Infantino was expected to present plans to generate up to £19 billion through two fresh competition formats, one for the international game and the other for elite clubs. The Uefa president, Aleksander Ceferin, was reportedly threatening to lead a walkout of the Fifa council meeting if the new tournament proposals were voted through.