Spanish clubs now allowed train with groups of 14 players
Spanish League is expected to resume without fans on June 11 with the Seville derby. It was suspended in mid-march with 11 rounds remaining with defending champion Barcelona having a two-point lead over Real Madrid
Spanish League clubs are now allowed to train with groups of up to 14 players as the league stays on track to restart in less than three weeks.
Only 10 players were allowed in group training last week because of confinement restrictions that are gradually being lifted across the hard-hit southern European nation where nearly 30,000 people have died with COVID-19.
Group training sessions are part of the penultimate phase before teams can be considered ready to return to competition.
Full squad sessions are expected to begin next week, depending on how the coronavirus pandemic progresses.
“We’ve gone through some very difficult and complicated moments during this pandemic and we don’t want to jump the gun,” Spanish league president Javier Tebas said late on Sunday in his weekly interview with league broadcaster Movistar.
Players were only allowed to practice individually during the first stage of training.
LEAGUE COULD RESUME ON JUNE 11
Tebas said the competition is expected to resume without fans on June 11 - a Thursday - with the Seville derby.
He said the popular first-division match between rivals Sevilla and Real Betis would be a good way to mark the return to competition and “honor those who have lost their lives” during the pandemic in Spain.
Tebas said it remains impossible to guarantee the June 11 start date because the decision ultimately depends on how the pandemic and the training phases progress. That would be nearly three months after soccer came to a halt in Spain and most of Europe.
“We need to align the phases, meet with the Spanish soccer federation and the Spanish sports council to finalize everything,” he said.
Tebas said the schedule for the first four rounds after the league resumes is expected to be announced in early June, with all matches expected to take place in empty stadiums. Spanish authorities don’t expect fans to be allowed in sports events at least until after the summer.
The league president said kickoff times will take high temperatures into account during the Spanish summer. The Sevilla-betis game is expected to start at 10 p.m. local time (2000 GMT).
“Our plan for kickoff times during the week would be to play in the afternoon or evening, between 7:30-8 p.m. or 9:30-10 p.m.,” he said. “Over the weekend, there would be three slots: 5 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 9:30 or 10 p.m.”
The league was suspended in mid-march with 11 rounds remaining. Defending champion Barcelona had a two-point lead over Real Madrid.
ACT RESPONSIBLY
Meanwhile, Tebas said on Sunday that footballers must remember to act responsibly to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus after four Sevilla players broke the Spanish government’s rules on social gatherings.
Argentine trio Ever Banega, Lucas Ocampos and Franco Vazquez as well as Dutch striker Luuk de Jong were pictured at a party alongside eight other people over the weekend.
Spain has eased one of the strictest lockdowns in Europe as its coronavirus infection rate has slowed and the death toll has declined, although gatherings of more than 10 people are still not permitted by the guidelines.
The picture, which was posted on Instagram by Banega’s wife, also showed a shisha pipe.
“Players are an example to society and should be careful with their actions,” Tebas told television network Movistar.
“I call on all footballers to not act like this. We have to be very careful because a lot of people’s jobs are at stake. Safety is guaranteed at training grounds and matches but I’m worried about other places and parties like this. We should all be very cautious,” he added.
The players all issued statements to apologise for their behaviour, which Sevilla published on the club’s official Twitter account.