Real Madrid TV criticises La Liga scheduling before Valencia match

Real Madrid TV has criticised La Liga president Javier Tebas over the timing of the club’s league meeting with Valencia, arguing that Jose Mourinho’s players have been placed at an unfair disadvantage compared with other Spanish sides competing in the Champions League.

The criticism was made during the club channel’s studio coverage before Real Madrid’s Champions League match against AEK Athens. In a preview report, the broadcaster expressed the club’s frustration at having to play Valencia on Saturday, 7 November, only three days after travelling to Greece for their European fixture on Wednesday, 4 November.

74 hours between Athens and Valencia

“It’s not logical for Real Madrid to play on Saturday after having been forced to play a Champions League match today,” the report’s presenter said. “This match has been affected by Tebas’ decisions. He treats us as if we were from Lithuania.”

The opening times of Real Madrid’s matches against AEK Athens and Valencia are approximately 74 hours and 15 minutes apart. However, Real Madrid’s objection is not based solely on the number of hours between the fixtures.

The club is also concerned about the demands of travelling abroad to Greece before returning to the Spanish capital. The squad is expected to arrive in the early hours of Thursday, meaning a significant part of the preparation period will be taken up by travel and recovery before the away match against Valencia on Saturday evening.

Why Real Madrid believe the schedule is unfair

The club’s complaint has been strengthened by comparison with the schedules given to the other Spanish teams involved in the Champions League.

Barcelona and Atletico Madrid played their European matches on Tuesday, 3 November, and will face each other on Sunday, 8 November. Villarreal also played on Tuesday, while Real Betis played on Wednesday, but both teams have been scheduled to play their domestic fixtures on Sunday.

Real Madrid are therefore the only Spanish club competing in the Champions League that will play a league match on Saturday after an away European fixture on Wednesday.

From Real Madrid’s perspective, the Valencia game could have been moved to Sunday, providing more time for the players to recover and prepare. The following week includes the international break, meaning there is no new European fixture immediately afterwards to place further pressure on the schedule.

La Liga has not breached the minimum rest period set between matches, as the gap between Real Madrid’s fixtures is longer than 72 hours. Nevertheless, the club believes that a calculation based only on the time between kick-offs does not fully reflect the physical impact of international travel and recovery on the players.