Ole! La Liga fires up again
BARCELONA (Reuters) – After an almighty push by all parties concerned, Spain’s La Liga roars back into action this week after a threemonth pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with matches taking place every day and with everything to play for.
The season resumes on Wednesday in bizarre circumstances with the second half of a Segunda Division match between Rayo Vallecano and Albacete that was abandoned in December due to offensive chanting.
The (re)starting gun will be properly fired with Thursday’s derby between Sevilla and Real Betis, while champion Barcelona play its first game on Saturday away to Real Mallorca, with title rival Real Madrid hosting Eibar on Sunday.
All matches will be played without spectators for safety reasons, although broadcasters plan to replicate crowd noise for television viewers, which will include a minute of applause for Spain’s morethan 27,000 coronavirus victims.
While clubs such as Eibar and Racing Santander expressed their disquiet about returning and a Cadiz player at first refused to turn up for training, Spain has been largely united by a desire for soccer to return to lift the mood in one of the worst-affected countries in the world by the virus.
La Liga president Javier Tebas has led the campaign to get the season back on track, warning early on that not completing the campaign could lead to a collective loss of one billion euros ($1.13 billion) in forfeited broadcast revenues and prize money.
Barcelona led the table by two points over Real when the season was paused in March and the two rivals are braced for one of the tightest title races in recent memory.
The fight for Champions League spots is even closer, with five teams vying for third and fourth place. The bottom 10 sides are separated by only 14 points, so the relegation battle will be just as gripping.