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Your support makes all the difference.La Liga's long-standing split with the Spanish FA (RFEF) deepened on Thursday night as the RFEF declared there was "zero per cent chance" Girona's game with FC Barcelona in Miami will go ahead, claiming the Spanish association, Uefa, Fifa and the Spanish Footballers' Association (AFE) all united against the proposal.
After details of the fixture leaked earlier this month, La Liga confirmed that they intend to take the fixture to Florida without first consulting the players' union or the national association.
President of the RFEF, Luis Rubiales, revealed on Spanish radio that he will formally move to block the proposal, having called it an 'invasion' of the US, with the backing of governing bodies in charge of European and world football in the form of a letter sent to La Liga chief Javier Tebas.
Discovering the news, Tebas responded with blind faith that the plan can still go ahead: "That isn't an argument," he said of Rubiales' backing. "Uefa haven't announced their stance publicly, Fifa don't have legal authority and we are negotiating with the AFE," Tebas added.
La Liga had rescheduled the game for Miami's Hard Rock Stadium on January 27.
Girona season ticket holders will be offered a number of options to compensate them for missing a home game that they have already paid for, including free flights for 1,500 supporters to attend the fixture in Miami and free hotels for an overnight stay. Both the flights and hotels must be secured by refundable deposits.
Fans who don't wish to make the trip the Florida will instead be offered one of 5,000 tickets to the reverse fixture at the Nou Camp in September as well as a 20% refund on their season ticket.
Those who neither wish to travel to Miami nor Barcelona will have 40% of their season ticket price refunded, a significant amount of compensation but one that reflects the fact many fans buy a year-long ticket to guarantee entry to the home games against Barca and Real Madrid.
Girona are set to make around €4m by offering up a home fixture for La Liga's first overseas game, while the league itself hopes to ensnare long-term sponsors and fans as part of a growing presence Stateside.
But Rubiales' latest statement has cast doubt on whether the Miami game can go ahead, with a long-standing schism between Spain's top flight and its football association threatening to further widen.
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