La Liga Suspended by COVID-19

With the official La Liga announcement coming in that they are suspending at least the next two matchdays, as quarantine procedures are carried out throughout the country. They have said they will reassess at that point. You can read the (brief) statement, here. This of course delays both the Celta Vigo match and the Mallorca one. From a strictly sporting perspective, these are two pretty games to have postponed. If, later on this year, we are trying to play midweek matches to catch the schedule up we 1. don’t have to worry about our opponent having a European schedule to work around 2. don’t have to worry about preparing for one of the top teams in the division. Our next match in theory against Granada on April 5th, we’ll see if that actually happens (I doubt it).

Of course, in this whole virus situation, sport is a minor consideration. The important part of it all is the human element, and as bad as I want the diversion of football during these times I would far rather do what’s best to keep people healthy. None of our writers here at VUSA are doctors, we aren’t going to try to project how this may or may not spread or how significant the risks are or are not for any particular activities.

I will say, that suspending the league entirely is tremendously preferable to playing matches behind closed doors. I think it’s a shame that Eibar fans missed a match their team played because La Liga shuffled their feet on how to handle this. Even as someone who doesn’t attend Villarreal matches personally, I recognize that the tie between the terraces and the pitch are an essential part of what this sport is.

We’ll continue to provide Villarreal content during this break. I’m working on getting a couple more Villarreal academy features done and I was speaking to Allen yesterday about doing some club history pieces in the next couple weeks. Should be fun. In the meantime, spend the time you would usually spend watching football matches looking out for the folks around you. Every local situation is going to be a little bit different, so pay attention to the announcements in your area. Everyone be safe, and Endavant!

(Oh, and while you’re here, even though the game won’t be happening yet there’s plenty of stuff about La Liga in general worth reading in our chat with Celta USA, here. )