Madrid Mayor says Spain’s La Liga Football Season will Finish Behind Closed Doors

MADRID’S mayor has said that Spain’s La Liga football season will finish behind closed doors, with other sporting events set to be held in empty venues until at least the end of summer.

José Luis Martínez-Almeida told Onda Cero radio station that the coronavirus pandemic “won’t be under control” for events with big crowds to resume soon, if even this year.

“In the spring and summer there won’t be any events with crowds in Spain, and possibly not in the autumn either,” Martínez-Almeida said.

“Since we will still not be fully in control of the pandemic, we will have change all of our old habits before we are even allowed to go back onto the streets.”

La Liga will not resume until the end of May at the very earliest, and president Javier Tebas has said he expects to play the first few games in empty stadiums.

A leading Spanish TV executive was recently not as optimistic on a quick return of La Liga, and he suggested that July was a more realistic month to see the season picked up behind closed doors, with strict safeguards for the players.

“Football matches without fans in the summer is a possibility, as long as health and safety conditions are observed,” Madrid mayor Martínez-Almeida said.

The Spanish FA said this week that if La Liga can’t resume, it will use the current table positions to hand out Champions League places to Barcelona, Real Madrid, Sevilla and Real Sociedad.

La Liga has said that they could lose almost a billion euros if the season is not finished, with unpaid TV rights a serious concern.

They estimate that if the campaign finishes behind closed doors, then they would lose about €300 million, whilst that loss would be halved if fans are allowed in.

Martínez-Almeida also said it had been a “mistake” for Atlético Madrid to play their Champions League tie against Liverpool at Anfield.

Nearly 3,000 Atlético fans travelled to see the match on March 11, just days before the Spanish government put in place the State of Alarm.