MADRID, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Villarreal president Fernando Roig on Tuesday made a promise to the club's supporters after the decision taken by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) to allow the La Liga game between his side and FC Barcelona, scheduled for December 20 to be played in Miami, the United States.
The decision to take a La Liga game from Spain to the U.S. needs approval by UEFA and FIFA and has been criticized by the Spanish players' union (AFE) and the fans' pressure group the Federacion de Accionistas y Socios del Futbol Espanol (FASFE).
Their arguments against swapping the east of Spain for the southern United States, include the journey time and also the fact that it could adulterate La Liga, with Barcelona swapping a difficult away game for a match certain to be played in front of a crowd made up primarily of Barcelona fans.
In an attempt to keep his club's fans happy, Riog made the promise, saying "every supporter who wants to go to Miami to see the game will be able to do so, with the flight and ticket free of charge and without a limit on ticket requests," he said.
Riog added that supporters who don't want to make the almost 15,000 kilometer round trip would have 20 percent of the cost of their season tickets returned by the club and that any money Villarreal earns from the game will be invested in projects for supporters. ■
