After the clash between Rayo Vallecano and Real Oviedo, Girona’s away match at FC Sevilla was also called off. LaLiga deems player safety not guaranteed.
Two matches of the 23rd matchday in La Liga have been postponed at short notice. Initially, it affected the match between Rayo Vallecano and Real Oviedo, which was scheduled to kick off on Saturday at 2 PM.
A few hours later, it was announced that the match between FC Sevilla and FC Girona also fell victim to the storm that has been raging on the Iberian Peninsula for days.
In each case, poor weather conditions were cited as the reason. In the case of the match in Sevilla, the club itself had requested the postponement for safety reasons and was supported by local authorities. La Liga has since followed these arguments and canceled the match due to rain, storms, and strong gusts of wind.
The match between Rayo Vallecano and Real Oviedo could not be played
Even at Rayo Vallecano’s stadium, the pitch did not meet the necessary conditions for a safe execution of the match. Despite intensive work on the turf in recent days, the ground could not be brought into an optimal condition in time.
At midday, the cancellation was widely reported in Spain and caused some surprise. The Spanish Marca , for example, wrote: “The grass is perfect”.
Weather conditions make the pitch unplayable
Vallecano had completely renewed the pitch during the week to be able to play the match as scheduled. However, during the work, adverse weather conditions hampered the renewal of the turf. In addition, further rain forecasts for matchday suggested an additional strain on the already sensitive surface.
LaLiga stated that it had closely monitored the process and continuously checked the development of the pitch. Ultimately, the current condition of the turf did not guarantee the physical integrity of the players.
Rescheduling pending
Both clubs may now submit proposals for a new date. A specific make-up date will be announced thereafter.
Vallecano players and coaches had already spoken of problems around the pitch in the run-up to the match. However, LaLiga clarified in its statement that the cancellation was based solely on the assessment of the current safety situation of the playing field.