Real Madrid vs. Athletic Club: know the reason for the suspension of the match

The triple date of the Qatar 2022 Qualifiers still affects some teams in Europe, as it happens in Spain. The long calendar does not allow certain clubs to have their squad in optimal conditions and LaLiga Santander seeks clarity in the competition, which is why Real Madrid vs. Athletic Club and Granada vs. Atlético were suspended.

These meetings were scheduled for this Sunday, October 17, the date set so that the protagonists have the proper time to recover before the new Champions League day. However, some South American players just finished their exhausting national team appearances on Thursday.

In the case of Real Madrid, the Brazilian Vinicius Jr. and the Uruguayan Federico Valverde were active, unlike Athletic Club, which only gives out athletes in Europe.

For its part, Atlético Madrid yielded to the Uruguayans José María Giménez and Luis Suárez, the Mexican Héctor Herrera and the Argentines Ángel Correa and Rodrigo De Paul. Meanwhile, the Peruvian Luis Abram and the Venezuelan Darwin Machís recently joined Granada.

Due to this scenario, the LaLiga Santander organization had no choice but to suspend the matches, as happened on the fourth day, when Villarreal vs. Alavés and Sevilla vs. Barcelona was not played. The annoyance in Spain continues due to this situation, but the positive is that in November the calendar will no longer be so tight.

This was the LaLiga Santander statement on the suspension of matches.

“In the case of the Real Madrid CF-Athletic Club and Granada CF-Club Atlético de Madrid matches, no time or date is set and it will be communicated in due course.

This situation is due, as already happened in Day 4, to the request by LaLiga to the RFEF Competition Committee, today, for the postponement of the aforementioned matches due to the already known fact of the extension by part of FIFA of the international period of Conmebol selections until the previous Thursday night (October 14, early morning of Friday 15 in Spain) and that affects, among others, the aforementioned clubs that must play their official UEFA Champions League matches on Tuesday 19 October.

This request to the Competition Committee, consistent with the postponement already granted for Day 4, tries to alleviate as much as possible the irreparable damage caused by a decision that threatens the sporting integrity of the competition“.