La Liga Cut Live Broadcast of Game After Seeing What Players Did at Kick-Off
La Liga cut away from the live broadcast of its fixture as a protest took place following a controversial announcement.
The La Liga resumed on Friday following the October international break as Oviedo welcomed Espanyol to the Carlos Tartiere Stadium.
The visitors ran out two-nil winners as goals from Kike Garcia and Pere Milla ensured their win on the road.
But Friday's clash grabbed plenty of headlines for what happened at kick-off.
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Oviedo and Espanyol players went ahead with the planned protest against the league's controversial decision to host Villarreal vs. Barcelona in the United States.
The La Liga match will take place at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida, on December 20, 2025.
According to Spanish outlet Cadena Cope, players in Spain are furious with the way the Miami game has been arranged and intend to show unity by not playing for the first 30 seconds of each game on matchday 9.
And the players did exactly that.
However, La Liga took immediate action as they refused to broadcast it to the TV audience.
After the referee blew his whistle to kick off the game, the players remained stationary, but La Liga's broadcast cut to an aerial view of the stadium.
Once the action started, the cameras returned to broadcast what was happening on the pitch.
Espanyol's Leandro Cabrera spoke of the protest following his side's win over Oviedo.
"That was something we had already agreed upon among the players, although later they tried to release news that it was being halted for other, unrelated reasons," he explained. "Last week, a meeting with LaLiga was requested, but they couldn’t. They scheduled a meeting for next week, when we know seven or eight teams are playing in Europe and can’t meet, and they want to meet the following week, when they’ve already sold out, and now there’s no turning back."
Cabrera added: “This also applies to the two who will be playing in Miami. All we’re asking for this weekend is respect and transparency. The only thing we wanted to show was a pause and that we disagree. They must have filmed some birds on the roof. I don’t know what they did, but I honestly don’t understand it."
Given Oviedo and Espanyol players went ahead with the protest, then that means the other teams who are playing this weekend are also expected to do it, including Barca and Villarreal - the two teams involved in the Miami fixture.
Barca face Girona while Villarreal host Real Betis.
Nasir Jabbar