La Liga
NOW, IT’S CLOSED DOORS FOR LA LIGA
La Liga matches will be played without fans for at least the next two rounds of fixtures to try and stop the spread of the coronavirus contagion, the Spanish league confirmed yesterday.
The unprecedented call was taken in conjunction with the decision by the Spanish government’s sports council (CSD) that professional and non-professional sports events and competitions should take place behind closed doors.
“According to information from the High Council of sports, La Liga matches (including the second tier) will be played behind closed doors, starting today and for at least the next two weeks,” the league said in a statement.
“La Liga will continue to be in permanent contact with the Ministry of Health and the CSD to follow its recommendations and/or decisions, prioritising the health of fans, players, club employees and journalists due to the Covid-19 health crisis.
“For weeks, La Liga has been working on alternative plans in coordination with Uefa in case health authorities decide to suspend any match, creating a plan to play these matches.”
As of yesterday, Spain was the second-most affected European country behind Italy, with 1,646 infections and 35 deaths.
Last night’s game between Eibar and Real Sociedad was the first to be affected.
Real Madrid’s game against Eibar at the Santiago Bernabeu on Friday night will be the weekend’s first fixture to be hit as authorities step up attempts to contain the outbreak.
Two of the most prominent fixtures in the league calendar – the Valencia and Seville derbies – will also go ahead in empty stadiums as Valencia face Levante at Mestalla on Saturday before Sevilla host Real Betis at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on Sunday night.
If the drastic measures are not extended, the next round of matches with supporters will take place on the weekend of April 4-5.
La Liga president Javier Tebas has also not ruled out postponing league matches, with 11 rounds remaining, if the epidemic takes a turn for the worse.
“It’s one thing to postpone a game and another not to play it,” he said. “We have the possibility of playing games behind closed doors and, if that is not possible, then we will postpone.
“If that case arises, we have dates prepared for when we can stage those games. We have presented this plan to Uefa so they can also bear in mind European ties involving Spanish teams. We are working on precaution, not improvisation.”
According to local radio station Cadena Cope, the weekend of the King’s Cup final (April 18-19) will be available for uncompleted league games, while May 19-20 has been earmarked as another possible free slot.
Spanish daily AS also quoted Cadena as saying that should there be any cancellation of games, La Liga will request that Uefa delay the start of Euro 2020, which is set to begin in Rome on June 12.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
Barcelona said their request for a permit to return to the Camp Nou for Sunday’s LaLiga match against Real Sociedad has been denied, with the city council highlighting safety and security issues with the revamped venue.
Barca had been hoping to return to a reduced-capacity Camp Nou with 27,000 spectators but have failed to obtain the necessary permits from Barcelona City Council.
Barca will instead host the match at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Montjuic, where they played during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons with renovations at Camp Nou now nine months behind schedule.
“We have spotted different elements that need to be fixed and have an impact in the safety and security of the stadium,” chief of civil protection Sebastia Massague said at a city council meeting.
Barca had to begin their LaLiga home campaign at the Estadi Johan Cruyff in their own training complex, where only 6,000 fans attended their match against Valencia on September 14, after a Post Malone concert left the Lluis Companys pitch in poor condition.
“The club is currently working on the new amendments that the council has shared today,” Barca said in a statement.
On Friday, the Catalan club also announced that their Champions League group stage match against Paris St Germain on October 1 would also take place at the Lluis Companys.
Barca are second in LaLiga, trailing leaders Real Madrid by five points but having played a game fewer.
-Reuters
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Villarreal midfielder Thomas Partey on Wednesday appeared in a London court and pleaded not guilty to charges of rape and sexual assault involving three women.
Partey, a Ghana international, is accused of five counts of rape relating to two women, plus a charge of sexual assault against a third woman, between April 2021 and June 2022.
The alleged offences took place when Partey played for Premier League soccer club Arsenal. He left the club this summer and signed for Spain’s Villarreal.
The 32-year-old appeared in the dock at Southwark Crown Court and spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth and enter his not guilty pleas.
Partey was released on bail ahead of his trial, which was listed for Nov. 2, 2026 and is due to take between six and eight weeks.
He was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59.2 million) in 2020 and became a key member of the English side’s first team, before his contract expired at the end of June.
Partey played for Villarreal in their Champions League game against Arsenal’s bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday night.
He came on as a second-half substitute and was booed loudly by the Spurs fans every time he touched the ball.
-Reuters
Villarreal and Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey, who has been charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, walks outside Southwark Crown Court, in London, Britain, September 17, 2025. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska
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Real Madrid on Tuesday denounced plans to stage a LaLiga match between Barcelona and Villarreal in Miami, warning the proposal could undermine football’s competitive balance and vowing to petition global governing bodies to block the move.
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) on Monday approved the December 20 fixture at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, which could become the first LaLiga match held abroad and the first European league fixture staged in the United States.
“Real Madrid wish to express to its members, supporters and football fans in general its firm rejection of the proposal,” the club said in a statement, revealing they have already urged FIFA, UEFA and Spain’s Higher Sports Council (CSD) to intervene.
The club accused the RFEF of making its decision “without informing or consulting the clubs participating in the competition” and argued that staging the match in Miami “violates the essential principle of territorial reciprocity” in home-and-away league formats.
Real further stated that the move would “alter the competitive balance” and grant “an unfair sporting advantage” to the clubs involved.
The club also warned that approving the proposal could compromise sporting integrity and “set an unacceptable precedent,” insisting any change of this nature should require “the express and unanimous agreement of all the clubs participating in the competition”.
The plan still requires approval from UEFA, US Soccer, CONCACAF and ultimately FIFA before LaLiga President Javier Tebas can realise his long-held ambition of taking Spanish football to the U.S.
-Reuters
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