Real Madrid TV has criticised La Liga president Javier Tebas over the decision to schedule Real Madrid’s next league match against Valencia on Saturday, 7 November, only 74 hours and 15 minutes after their Champions League meeting with AEK Athens in Greece.
The criticism was made during the club channel’s build-up programme before the European fixture. A report on Real Madrid TV said the club was unhappy at having to play away from home on Wednesday, 4 November, before returning to Spain for a Saturday evening match.
“It is not logical for Real Madrid to play on Saturday after being forced to play a Champions League match today,” the reporter said. “This match has been affected by Tebas’ decisions. He treats us as if we were from Lithuania.”
The timings mean Real Madrid’s players face an away trip to Greece before travelling back to the Spanish capital, with the squad expected to arrive in the early hours of Thursday. That would reduce the time available for recovery and preparation before the visit to Valencia.
Real Madrid’s complaint is not based solely on the number of hours between the two kick-offs. The club also believes the demands of international travel and the effect of the journey on the players have not been properly reflected in the scheduling.
Why Real Madrid feel disadvantaged
The argument has been strengthened by the arrangements made for the other Spanish clubs involved in the Champions League.
Barcelona and Atletico de Madrid played their European matches on Tuesday, 3 November, before meeting each other in La Liga on Sunday, 8 November. Villarreal also played on Tuesday, while Real Betis had their European fixture on Wednesday; both clubs are due to play their domestic matches on Sunday.
Real Madrid are therefore the only Spanish club competing in the Champions League to have a league fixture on Saturday after playing an away European match on Wednesday.
From Real Madrid’s perspective, the Valencia match could have been moved to Sunday, providing the team with additional recovery and preparation time. The following week includes an international break, meaning there is no further European fixture to place pressure on the schedule.
La Liga has not breached the minimum rest period between matches. The gap between the start of Real Madrid’s games against AEK Athens and Valencia is more than the required 72 hours.
However, the club believes that calculating the interval between kick-offs does not fully account for the physical impact of travelling abroad, returning overnight and recovering before another away match.
