Soccer players in La Liga, the country's first division league, have voted unanimously to strike if forced to play matches in the USA as planned. The Spanish First Division has outlined plans to stage a whole week of fixtures in the United States as early as next season. The proposed American pit-stop has angered many of the top players with a reasonable platform to speak out. Players of influence including Barcelona's Sergio Busquets and Real Madrid's captain Sergio Ramos, both members of the Spanish National Team, got together this afternoon to plan a boycott in the likelihood the league schedules matches abroad.
"The players are outraged, very surprised, and are all against it. It's unanimous," Spanish Footballers' Association president David Aganzo said after mediating the hour-long meeting. "The players don't want to play overseas. Things have to be done in a more coherent way and with common sense. A decision of this magnitude, that affects players, referees and fans, was taken unilaterally and is a lack of respect."
Aganzo stopped short of outlining the extreme measures the players and the governing Footballer's Association are willing to take in the event of USA fixtures. He did however demonstrate a willingness each and every option at their disposal. While North American tours are often lauded as a branding experiment for European soccer clubs looking to expand their outreach, the move to play league matches in North America is completely unprecedented in European football.
