Are we from Lithuania? Real Madrid's channel opens fire on Tebas
Real Madrid's channel opened fire on Javier Tebas, president of the Spanish league association, over the timing of the Royal team's upcoming match against Valencia. The announced schedule, they argued, puts José Mourinho's players in illogical conditions compared with the rest of the Spanish clubs competing in the UEFA Champions League.
The attack came during the analytical studio of the club's channel, ahead of the clash with Greece's AEK Athens. The preliminary report broadcast on the channel laid bare Real Madrid's discontent at playing their league match on Saturday 7 November, having faced the Greek team away on the evening of Wednesday 4 November in the UEFA Champions League.
74 hours between Athens and Valencia
The presenter in Real Madrid's channel report said: "It makes no sense for Real Madrid to play on Saturday after being forced to play a Champions League match today. This match was affected by Tebas's decisions, as he treats us as though we were from Lithuania."
Roughly 74 hours and 15 minutes separate the kick-offs of Real Madrid's matches against AEK Athens and Valencia. But the Madrid objection does not concern the time gap alone. It is the conditions of the European trip and the knock-on effect on the team's preparation for the domestic clash.
Real Madrid's delegation travel to Greece, then return to the Spanish capital, with expectations of arriving in the early hours of Thursday morning. That means an important day of the preparation period will be swallowed up by travel and recovery before they face Valencia away on Saturday evening.
Why does Real Madrid feel wronged?
Compare the timing of Real Madrid's match with the schedule of the rest of the Spanish clubs in the Champions League and the grievance sharpens.
Barcelona and Atlético Madrid played their European matches on Tuesday 3 November, before facing each other on Sunday 8 November. Villarreal played on Tuesday and Real Betis on Wednesday, then both play their league matches on Sunday as well.
That leaves Real Madrid as the only Spanish team among the Champions League participants playing their domestic match on Saturday, despite playing a European clash away on Wednesday.
From the Madrid point of view, the league could have pushed the Valencia clash back to Sunday, handing the team longer to recover and prepare. The following week brings the international break, and no new European round is squeezing the fixture schedule.
Even so, the league association did not place Real Madrid below the approved minimum rest between matches, as the time gap exceeds 72 hours. The club, though, believes the time calculations fail to reflect the full impact of travel and physical fatigue on the players.
