Judge rejects LaLiga's attempt to play Villarreal-Atlético in Miami

Judge Moisés Guillamón Ruiz has rejected LaLiga's proposal to hold Villarreal and Atlético Madrid in Miami in December. After listening to both sides of the argument, the senior judge said that a similar case brought before the court has not been resolved yet.

The new unilateral decision by LaLiga to host a game outside of Spain has been precautionarily rejected with the hearing of the previous case set to take place in February 2020. The Spanish football federation would not grant LaLiga permission to play the Barcelona - Girona game in Miami last year and LaLiga brought the case to court. 

They brought another case to court when the Spanish federation opposed their most recent idea to play Atlético and Villarreal, which was set for the Estadio de la Ceramica, in Miami on 6 December. The current complaint is identical to the previous one. 

LaLiga says it: "respects the decision, which does not prejudge the substance of the matter, which will be permanently settled in February 2020."

LaLiga keep Miami game in their long-term strategy

They say that playing a game in the United States is a long-term strategy and they hope that eventually they will be able to play a league game there.

Both clubs involved have agreed to play the game and they asked it to be played on Friday 6 December with Atlético playing Bayer Leverkusen at home in the Champions League on 11 December.

Real Madrid have also expressed opposition to the game being played in Miami as they believe it destroys the competitive balance of the league and they say it is being played for reasons beyond football.