Olive branch from Spanish FA to end season
Federation wins legal battle but agrees to allow matches every day of the week
The Spanish soccer federation will allow matches to be played every day of the week to complete the season after a three-month shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, despite winning a legal battle with La Liga over scheduling.
A commercial court on Tuesday rejected La Liga’s lawsuit against the federation, which last year ruled that league matches could only be scheduled on weekends to protect the interests of fans.
The federation on Wednesday welcomed the judge’s decision but said it wouldn’t stand in the way if the league wished to schedule matches on every day of the week to finish the season as quickly as possible.
RFEF president Luis Rubiales and La Liga chief Javier Tebas are sworn enemies but last month committed to work together to overcome the crisis caused by the pandemic following a meeting with Sports Minister Irene Lozano.
“The federation wishes to show its utmost satisfaction with the sentence passed by the judge today, which rejects La Liga’s suit and declares that matches on Fridays and Mondays require the approval of the federation,” it said in a statement.
“However, the federation wishes to show its goodwill and will do its part to facilitate the season being completed without any problems, upholding the spirit of harmony it committed to . ...
“That is why it is offering La Liga the chance to hold games on Fridays and Mondays once this season restarts until it finishes, without asking for anything in return.”
There are 11 rounds of matches remaining in the top-flight season, which is set to resume on June 11 after being suspended on March 12 due to the pandemic, although fixtures have not yet been confirmed.
La Liga said it was planning an appeal.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho said it was painful to watch countries resume their top-flight seasons while English soccer remains suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The German Bundesliga restarted May 16, becoming the first major soccer league to get back underway, while leagues in Portugal and Spain are also nearing a return.
Professional soccer in England has been suspended since midmarch, but clubs on Wednesday voted unanimously to return to contact training as the second step in the Premier League’s Project Restart, which hopes for a return to play in June.
“It’s hard to see other countries playing football and we don’t do it,” Mourinho told Sky Sports. “I always try to make our players love the Christmas period where, instead of being sad, we were always happy to give people what they love in a period where nobody else is playing football.
“At the moment, we’re feeling a bit opposite . ... We want to play but of course we are respectful of the authorities, we trust what they and the Premier League say. We just have to follow the decision.”
The National Women’s Soccer League will return to action in late June with a 25-game tournament in Utah that will be played in empty stadiums due to the pandemic.
The NWSL, which delayed the start of its season because of the coronavirus, said it has worked with team doctors and health officials to develop testing protocols to ensure a safe environment for its nine teams during the monthlong tournament.