Why La Liga continued games this past weekend is a shame. The flash floods that wrecked Valencia and killed 217 far outweigh matters on the pitch.
Ancelotti and the calls for pause
Carlo Ancelotti is right that all of Spanish football should be on hold. Real Madrid’s match at Valencia and Villarreal’s game against Rayo Vallecano were the only two top-flight matches postponed over the weekend due to the damages of the DANA storm.
It’s been a week of tragedy, and we’re sad,” Ancelotti told reporters in a Champions League pre-match press conference on Monday. Los Blancos take on AC Milan at the Santiago Bernabéuon on Wednesday.
“We’re very close to Valencia and all the affected towns. Hopefully it can be resolved soon. Talking about football is difficult, and so is playing football. We are part of this country, and it affects us a lot.”
Unfortunately for Ancelotti, he doesn’t wield the political axe. Locals threw shade at Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and King Felipe IV’s Sunday visit to the affected areas.
“Football is a party. When somebody doesn’t want to go to the party, I don’t think that we should have the party. When your family is well and everyone is well. When people are not well there is no need to party. Football has to stop. For me yes. Because it is the most important of the least important things. But we can’t make decisions. We are not the ones in charge.”
Real Madrid’s chief rivals, Barcelona, admitted that playing on Sunday in their 3-1 win against Espanyol was not their choice. Coach Hansi Flick had expected the match to be called off.
“If I could make the decision, maybe I would do it because it is a tragedy for Valencia and for Spain as a whole,” said Flick.
Should La Liga matches this past weekend have been postponed? Let us know your opinion.
