City, State/Country: Barcelona, Spain
This weekend, La Liga players don vex face as dem join protest no be small for first 15 seconds of their matches. Dem dey show like statue as dem no move for ground, all in solidarity against La Liga decision to take one of dem fixtures go Miami for December. Fans wey dey watch at home no fit see wetin dey happen, instead dem chop the view of the stadium outside. No wahala, we sabi say dem fit want us to focus on the beautiful game, but na wetin dey happen inside we want make we sabi!
The matches wey play on Saturday, especially the one wey involve Barcelona and Atletico Madrid against Girona and Osasuna respectively, follow wetin Oviedo and Espanyol start for Friday. E go shock you, but Sevilla vs Mallorca and Villarreal vs Real Betis also jump on this train of silent protest. Everybody just dey stand like dem wax sculpture. (Think say dem dey freeze!)
Wetin cause this level of protest? Na the babas wey run things for La Liga – dem don decide sey one big match go happen for Hard Rock Stadium for Miami, and everybody no gree for am. The Spanish Footballers’ Association (AFE) don yan say na lack of dialogue and transparency wey cause this wahala. E be like sey La Liga dey do wetin dem want without checking if the players dey okay with am. Na so dem plan this 15-second silence to show dem how dem dey feel about that.
Barcelona midfielder Pedri talk sey dem no plan join the protest, but come join eventually as respect for their fellow players. No be small wahala, as no be only Barcelona and Villarreal players dey fear to move, other clubs also join the show.
Xabi Alonso, wey be Real Madrid coach, also talk say sey this Miami match go distort the competition. E say no be every team gree for this kind jolly-jolly arrangement. Na so everybody dey shout “We no wan dis.”
As per La Liga, dem dey try pacify everybody by saying dem dey willing to meet with AFE make dem sit down, gree and talk things out. We just hope sey dem fit settle this matter quick before e turn to bigger wahala. Dem don plan sey dis protest go continue for all La Liga matches wey dey happen dis weekend. So make you no be surprised if you see players dek stop again for another 15 seconds next time.
Even commentators dey try to make sense of the mute drama, but no e no sabi wetin dey happen for the pitch. Dem dey talk about La Liga’s new ‘commitment to peace’. Well, we gree make dem spread peace, but wetin we really need now na peace inside the pitch make everybody play ball enjoy their game.
We dey look forward to how this story go unfold, but for now, players dey silent, and La Liga dey vex. This na the kind of gbege wey we dey live for Naija. Meanwhile, make we dey watch and see if dem go gree settle am before December match come around!
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