Football Uproar in Spain as La Liga’s Getafe Calls Foul on Champions League Fix

La Liga’s Getafe are involved in a football uproar, as they are calling foul on Spain’s Football Federation (RFEF) over a fix in picking which teams will take part in next season’s Champions League.

THE RFEF decided that La Liga’s current positions would be used to determine which teams play in European competitions next season if the 2019-20 domestic campaign – which was suspended indefinitely on March 23 – is unable to be completed due to the State of Alarm restrictions implemented in the wake of the pandemic.

That would mean Barcelona, Real Madrid, Sevilla and Real Sociedad would play in the Champions League, with fifth-placed Getafe and sixth-placed Atletico Madrid having to make do with places in the the Europa League.

That decision has angered Getafe, who have the same number of points (46) and the same overall goal difference as Real Sociedad, only sitting behind the Basque side by virtue of having scored fewer goals.

However, if teams are level on points at the end of a full La Liga season, then head-to-head goal difference is the first tiebreaker, and although Getafe have only faced Real Sociedad once this season, that game saw them win 2-1 in Real’s Anoeta stadium.

“When the season is finished and there’s a tie on points, then the first thing that is looked at is the results of the matches between the two sides involved,” said Getafe coach Jose Bordelas.

“You then look at the goal difference figures and then you go to the number of goals scored. There is no reason to change that,” he fumed.

Getafe president Angel Torres said the RFEF had “no authority” to decide who qualified for the Champions League and that “nobody had asked them to do so,” although both the coach and president insisted that what the club really wants to do is play.

The RFEF intervention is interesting as most football fans would expect La Liga to make any rulings as to who stands where in their competition at the end of the day.

The RFEF though is a member country of European soccer’s governing body, UEFA, which in charge of the Champion’s League and Europa League tournaments.