UEFA ExCo puts brakes on planned Barcelona game in Miami - ESPN

The UEFA Executive Committee on Thursday delayed making a decision on the request from the Spanish Football Federation's (RFEF) to clear a Villarreal-Barcelona LaLiga match for Miami's Hard Rock Stadium.

UEFA said after Thursday's Executive Committee meetings in Tirana, Albania, that it would hold a round of consultations with all parties, including fans, before making any decisions.

More than 400 club supporter groups in Europe have come out against the proposed staging of matches overseas and fan liaison group Football Supporters Europe formally urged UEFA and FIFA to block the request.

UEFA confirmed that its Executive Committee also agreed similarly to delay a decision about Serie A's requests this Thursday in Tirana to have the Inter Milan-Como match played in Perth, Australia, in February.

The RFEF this year approved plans for Barcelona to play Villarreal in Miami on Dec. 20 but the decision now rests with football's governing bodies to make a final decision.

UEFA acknowledged that «this is an important and increasingly relevant issue,» and therefore wishes to gather the opinions of all interested parties before making a final decision.

In a statement, UEFA said: «The Executive Committee discussed the requests from the RFEF and FIGC (Italian FA) to approve the playing of one domestic league match each outside the home country, in particular outside the UEFA territory.

»The committee acknowledged it as an important and growing issue but expressed the desire to ensure that it has the views of all stakeholders before coming to a final decision.

«There are many issues to resolve and as the European governing body, UEFA has a responsibility to take all such factors into account.

»As a result, no decision was taken today