Real Madrid’s official television channel has criticised La Liga president Javier Tebas over the scheduling of the club’s next league match against Valencia, arguing that Jose Mourinho’s players have been placed at an unreasonable disadvantage compared with other Spanish clubs competing in the Champions League.
The criticism came during the channel’s studio coverage before Real Madrid’s away match against AEK Athens. A preview report highlighted the club’s frustration at being scheduled to play Valencia on Saturday, 7 November, only three days after their Champions League fixture in Greece on Wednesday, 4 November.
“ It does not make sense for Real Madrid to play on Saturday after being forced to play a Champions League match today,” the channel’s reporter said. “This match has been affected by Tebas’ decisions. He treats us as if we were from Lithuania.”
The interval between the scheduled kick-offs against AEK Athens and Valencia is approximately 74 hours and 15 minutes. However, Real Madrid’s objection is not limited to the length of the gap. The club also points to the demands of travelling abroad, returning to Madrid and preparing for an away match so soon afterwards.
The Real Madrid squad is due to travel to Greece before flying back to the Spanish capital, with the team expected to arrive in the early hours of Thursday. That journey and the subsequent recovery period will take up a significant part of the preparation time before the visit to Valencia on Saturday evening.
Real Madrid’s sense of grievance has been heightened by the schedules given to the other Spanish clubs involved in the Champions League.
Barcelona and Atletico 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 played on Wednesday, but both clubs will likewise play their league fixtures on Sunday.
Real Madrid are therefore the only Spanish team competing in the Champions League that will play a domestic fixture on Saturday after an away European match on Wednesday.
From the club’s perspective, the Valencia match could have been moved to Sunday to allow more time for recovery and preparation. The following week contains an international break, meaning there is no additional European fixture to place pressure on the schedule.
La Liga has not breached the established minimum rest period between matches, as the gap is longer than 72 hours. Real Madrid’s argument, however, is that a calculation based solely on kick-off times does not fully reflect the physical effect of overseas travel, recovery and fatigue on the players.
