Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
frankie de jong Criticized playing plan LaLiga match between barcelona And Villarreal In Miami later this year he said he understood the business reasons but he did not like the idea.
Villarreal’s home match against Barcelona on December 20 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami will be the first time that an official European league match will be played abroad.
“I can understand the clubs; they will benefit from it,” De Jong said of the controversial decision when he joined the Netherlands pre-match press conference ahead of Thursday’s World Cup qualifier in Malta.
“But I wouldn’t have taken that decision myself. I don’t agree with it either. Competitively speaking, it’s also unfair.”
De Jong said, “Now we will play matches away from home at a neutral venue. But I don’t think anyone is listening to us.”
UEFA President Aleksandar Ceferin Called it a “regrettable” decision to allow two European league matches to be played abroad and insisted that it would “not set a precedent”.
In February, AC Milan’s Italian serie a The match against Como will be played in Perth, Australia.
Adrien Rabiot, who plays for AC Milan, told le figaro The idea was “really absurd”.
“It’s all out of our control,” the French international said. “There’s a lot of talk about the schedule and the health of the players, but it all feels really absurd. It’s crazy to travel so many miles to Australia for a match between two Italian teams. We have to adapt as always.”
Serie A chief executive Luigi De Siervo was asked about Rabiot’s comments at a league assembly meeting in Rome.
He said: “He is right, but Rabiot forgets, like all footballers who earn millions of euros, that they are paid to do an activity, to play football.
“He must respect the money earned while abiding by the wishes of his employer Milan, who accepted and pressured the match to be played abroad.”