September 07, (THEWILL) – The upcoming La Liga fixture between Barcelona and Sevilla has been postponed after a successful appeal at the National Sports Council (CSD) launched by the two clubs for the postponement of the tie.
Both sides wanted a rescheduling of the match as a result of the clash in fixtures due to recent changes in the South American international fixtures for the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers.
Their initial request for the match to be postponed was presented to La Liga on the argument that both sides would be missing too many players because of delays getting back from South America. However, when the Spanish FA (RFEF) rejected their request, they appealed to the CSD.
On Tuesday, the CSD confirmed that they saw enough to justify the case and postponed Saturday’s fixture. And because of the same argument, they also postponed the tie between Samuel Chukwueze’s Villarreal and Alaves, which was billed for the Estadio de la Ceramica on the same day as well.
The CSD ruling countered the stance of the RFEF, who did not believe the absence of the South Americans was severe enough to postpone the fixture. Rather, the Council sided with La Liga on the notion that the integrity of the game would be at risk by forcing the teams involved to play without their international stars.
The RFEF has an opportunity to fight their case and appeal the ruling, should they consider it necessary to do so.
The disadvantage was not so heavy on Barcelona since Lionel Messi moved to Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1. They will be without the Uruguayan Ronald Araujo only. In his absence, Barca can still draw upon a solid excess of quality and talent.
It is the opponents Sevilla who will be immensely handicapped if the game holds. Defenders Gonzalo Montiel and Marcos Acuna and Alejandro Gomez, their midfielder, are all away with Argentina and would likely miss the game, which would weaken Sevilla. This fact will therefore be handing Barcelona an unfair advantage against Los Nevionenses.
In the absence of an appeal against the postponement by the RFEF, Barcelona and Villarreal will have an extra day of rest as they prepare to kick off their Champions League group stage campaigns during the week when the continental club competition gets underway.
The decision of the Council also means La Liga and the RFEF will have to find vacant dates later in the 2021/2022 calendar to fix a rescheduling of both games.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
