Spanish Super Cup in Saudi sparks some serious discourse

ATHLETIC Bilbao midfielder Raul Garcia has condemned the decision to play the revamped Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia, saying that “football now is all about making money and finding sponsors”.

“It’s a complete nonsense,” said Garcia in Bilbao as he prepared to travel to Saudi capital Riyadh, where his side face Atletico Madrid today.

Real Madrid and Barcelona played yesterday. The final is on Sunday at a sold-out King Fahd Stadium.

“Maybe I’m old school, but soccer has changed and the fans have been forgotten. I don’t think I need to say that, anyone can see,” Garcia added.

Spanish FA (RFEF) president Luis Rubiales on Tuesday defended playing in Saudi

Arabia, saying the tournament was a way of generating income for some of La Liga’s more modest clubs.

“We took a game that was forgotten in the middle of summer and made it into an international event,” he told Spanish TV channel Movistar Plus.

The issue of Saudi Arabia’s human rights record has been discussed widely since the RFEF agreed a contract with the Saudis until 2029 that will earn the governing body €30-million (about R527m) a year.

Yet in Riyadh, where the coaches and players from Barcelona and Real Madrid held news conferences on Tuesday ahead of their semi-final, the subject was not broached.

All of the questions to Real coach Carlo Ancelotti and his Barca counterpart Xavi Hernandez, or to players Toni Kroos and Sergio Busquets, were focused on football.

And it was business as usual in the RFEF’s bubble in Riyadh.

“I want to thank you all for coming to support our endeavour,” Rubiales told sponsors, guests and media on the private flight from Madrid to Riyadh on Monday.

From King Khalid International Airport VIP terminal, buses took the Spanish delegation to five-star hotels where they will stay for a week.