This week’s La Liga fixtures are set to be postponed and that too for a very unusual reason – heat waves.
Yes, you read that right, this week’s La Liga fixtures could be postponed with a heat wave set to hit Spain. Javier Tebas, La Liga president, has hinted about the postponement of some La Liga fixtures because of the temperature hovering around 36-38 degrees Celsius.
La Liga kicked off at the end of August, and in two game weeks, it has already seen some interesting results. With Atletico Madrid just getting 2 points from the opening 2 games, Simeone would be eager to get his team back on track this week, but might have to wait longer.
This week’s La Liga kicks off with Real Sociedad hosting Espanyol in San Sebastian tomorrow evening. La Liga president, Javier Tebas, has revealed that some games might not be played if the temperature does not reduce.
The games being played in the afternoon that are most likely to be postponed are Celta Vigo vs Atletico, Real Madrid vs Osasuna and Valencia vs Real Betis. Tebas is still unsure about the fate of these matches.
Tebas told radio Cope on Wednesday that “football can’t be played at 36 or 37 degrees Celsius (96 or 98 Fahrenheit).”
“We have discussed the heat issue, not just because of this weekend but because of previous rounds. Real Madrid played their last game against Celta (on 27th August) with a temperature of 32 degrees Celsius.”
Tebas also revealed that some games might be delayed, although high temperatures have also been reported in the evenings as well.
“The problem has been that, in the evenings, the temperature as not dropped much.”
Temperatures are expected to be at around mid-30 degrees Celsius (around 86-88 Fahrenheit) and almost touched 40 degrees Celsius this week.
Tebas has said that the referees have been advised to allow players to take as many water breaks as they want to keep them hydrated.
“We have spoken to the referees’ committee to make sure the players can drink water to cope up with the conditions.”
With just a couple of days left for the 3rd week of fixtures to kick off, Tebas will have to arrive at a decision soon, to avoid any confusion. If the matches are postponed, Tebas would have to come up with an alternative date to get the affected clubs back on track in La Liga.
With the Champions League kicking off next week, delay in matches would cause headaches for the participating clubs.
