La Liga
BARCELONA COACH, VALVERDE, SLAMS OFFSHORE SPANISH SUPER CUP
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde, whose team has been eliminated from the final of the Spanish Super Cup, has countered Spanish football chief Luis Rubiales’ assertion that the Spanish Super Cup “has taken a big step forward” after moving to Saudi Arabia.
Traditionalists have been fuming since the competition – which in the past pitted the La Liga champions against the Copa del Rey winners – was expanded to a four-team format this season.
And not only has the date been moved from its traditional August slot, the venue has been moved outside of Spain. Last year, the final was hosted in Tangier, Morocco.
Expressing his concerns with the three-year deal worth €40 million (S$60 million) annually to stage the Cup in Saudi Arabia, Valverde, whose team are in the Gulf kingdom along with Real Madrid, Valencia and Atletico Madrid, felt that “football these days is an industry”.
He said yesterday: “I know there have been rumblings… The reason why we are here and Morocco is because the authorities are looking for more sources of income.”
He also questioned the participation of Atletico and Real after both finished empty-handed last term, whereas Barcelona and Valencia are the La Liga and Copa del Rey winners respectively.
“For me, it’s strange to play the Super Cup with two guest teams,” he said. “It’s clear that these games are exciting for the crowd, but there is only one league champion and there is only one cup winner.”
Rubiales, however, believes his revamp has made the Super Cup “the most important short tournament in the world”.
Speaking after Real beat Valencia 3-1 to qualify for Sunday’s final, he said: “When we planned the changes last year, we didn’t know which teams would be playing. But by betting on this format, we knew we would turn a low-key summer event into a huge competition.”
Rejecting the backlash from human rights groups who have accused Saudi Arabia of trying to “sports wash” its questionable record, he claimed the Cup could be a catalyst for change.
Noting that Wednesday was the first time local women attended a match without restrictions – previously they had to sit in a special “family” section – he added: “Football can open up doors and I feel very positive today after seeing women and girls in the crowd.”
The Cup is the latest push by the Saudis to boost their image through the hosting of big sporting events.
The Dakar Rally kicked off on Sunday, just a month after the big-money heavyweight boxing bout between Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Jr. The inaugural Saudi Cup, the world’s richest horse race, will be staged next month.
-Reuters
Barcelona said their request for a permit to return to the Camp Nou for Sunday’s LaLiga match against Real Sociedad has been denied, with the city council highlighting safety and security issues with the revamped venue.
Barca had been hoping to return to a reduced-capacity Camp Nou with 27,000 spectators but have failed to obtain the necessary permits from Barcelona City Council.
Barca will instead host the match at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Montjuic, where they played during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons with renovations at Camp Nou now nine months behind schedule.
“We have spotted different elements that need to be fixed and have an impact in the safety and security of the stadium,” chief of civil protection Sebastia Massague said at a city council meeting.
Barca had to begin their LaLiga home campaign at the Estadi Johan Cruyff in their own training complex, where only 6,000 fans attended their match against Valencia on September 14, after a Post Malone concert left the Lluis Companys pitch in poor condition.
“The club is currently working on the new amendments that the council has shared today,” Barca said in a statement.
On Friday, the Catalan club also announced that their Champions League group stage match against Paris St Germain on October 1 would also take place at the Lluis Companys.
Barca are second in LaLiga, trailing leaders Real Madrid by five points but having played a game fewer.
-Reuters
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Villarreal midfielder Thomas Partey on Wednesday appeared in a London court and pleaded not guilty to charges of rape and sexual assault involving three women.
Partey, a Ghana international, is accused of five counts of rape relating to two women, plus a charge of sexual assault against a third woman, between April 2021 and June 2022.
The alleged offences took place when Partey played for Premier League soccer club Arsenal. He left the club this summer and signed for Spain’s Villarreal.
The 32-year-old appeared in the dock at Southwark Crown Court and spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth and enter his not guilty pleas.
Partey was released on bail ahead of his trial, which was listed for Nov. 2, 2026 and is due to take between six and eight weeks.
He was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59.2 million) in 2020 and became a key member of the English side’s first team, before his contract expired at the end of June.
Partey played for Villarreal in their Champions League game against Arsenal’s bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday night.
He came on as a second-half substitute and was booed loudly by the Spurs fans every time he touched the ball.
-Reuters
Villarreal and Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey, who has been charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, walks outside Southwark Crown Court, in London, Britain, September 17, 2025. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska
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Real Madrid on Tuesday denounced plans to stage a LaLiga match between Barcelona and Villarreal in Miami, warning the proposal could undermine football’s competitive balance and vowing to petition global governing bodies to block the move.
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) on Monday approved the December 20 fixture at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, which could become the first LaLiga match held abroad and the first European league fixture staged in the United States.
“Real Madrid wish to express to its members, supporters and football fans in general its firm rejection of the proposal,” the club said in a statement, revealing they have already urged FIFA, UEFA and Spain’s Higher Sports Council (CSD) to intervene.
The club accused the RFEF of making its decision “without informing or consulting the clubs participating in the competition” and argued that staging the match in Miami “violates the essential principle of territorial reciprocity” in home-and-away league formats.
Real further stated that the move would “alter the competitive balance” and grant “an unfair sporting advantage” to the clubs involved.
The club also warned that approving the proposal could compromise sporting integrity and “set an unacceptable precedent,” insisting any change of this nature should require “the express and unanimous agreement of all the clubs participating in the competition”.
The plan still requires approval from UEFA, US Soccer, CONCACAF and ultimately FIFA before LaLiga President Javier Tebas can realise his long-held ambition of taking Spanish football to the U.S.
-Reuters
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