La Liga eyes June return as Real Sociedad, Athletic Bilbao request Copa del Rey final to be played in front of fans
Barcelona celebrate after their victory over Real Sociedad at the La Liga match in Bon April 15.
Spanish football authorities on Monday chalked out plans to resume the halted La Liga 2019-20 season in June with clubs getting permission to return to training this week for individual training – two months after the campaign was postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Players, who were restricted to train indoors amid lockdown measures, will begin individual training this week after the Spanish government lifted sports-related measures.
La Liga president Javier Tebas said that the league has a comprehensive protocol to safeguard the health and well-being of everyone involved in the resumption of the season in the month of June.
"People's health is paramount, so we have a comprehensive protocol to safeguard the health of everyone involved as we work to restart La Liga," league president Javier Tebas said in the statement.
"Circumstances are unprecedented, but we hope to start playing again in June and finish our 19/20 season this summer."
Players allowed to train
From Tuesday, footballers in Spain will undergo COVID-19 tests and will be allowed to take to the field once the result is out negative.
Earlier, Tebas had said that Spanish first and second-division football could start on May 28-29, June 6-7 or June 28-29 with the possibility of matches happening behind closed doors.
Meanwhile, Copa Del Rey finalists – Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao – issued a joint request to play the summit clash of the tournament in front of fans and the request has received support from the Spanish football federation (RFEF). This would be the first all-Basque final in the history of the competition.
"The desire and will of both clubs have always been, now and before, to play and enjoy the final match along with the supporters," they said in a joint press release. "This is what we would like most. A final to be lived with our supporters in the stands."
The fixture was originally scheduled for April 18 in Seville at the Olympic Stadium, known as La Cartuja. But no new date has been fixed, as of now.