Real Madrid and La Liga Have Differences of Opinion Regarding Change of Fixture Time
Real Madrid earned three points in a hard-fought win over Villarreal yesterday, thanks to two Kylian Mbappe goals in a 2-1 win. The game was played under 72 hours after Los Blancos' epic Champions League game that was 120 minutes of soccer and a penalty shoot-out.
After the game, head coach Carlo Ancelotti had some strong words for La Liga. The Italian was upset that his team played the game just three days after the intense battle with rivals Atletico Madrid. He went as far as saying they would never play a game under 72 hours after playing such an important match again.
Ancelotti had reason to be angry, having also said that the club had asked La Liga twice to move the game. The first was when the schedule was released, and the second was after the Atletico game.
MORE: Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois Unhappy With La Liga Scheduling
However, El Partidazo de COPE reported that La Liga had said Real Madrid had never contacted them regarding the fixture being moved.
Los Blancos confirmed that Emilio Butragueño, who acts as head of public relations for the club, had contacted La Liga twice. Correspondent for the Athletic, Mario Cortegana, also confirmed the news.
According to the club, Butragueño called LaLiga to ask for the change minutes after the schedules were known and the request was rejected
— Mario Cortegana (@MarioCortegana) March 15, 2025
Butragueño tried again after Wednesday's extra time with the players' health as main reason. LaLiga rejected the request.@TheAthleticFC…
Somebody is not telling the truth, and it follows from the drama between Real Madrid and La Liga after the club criticized the referees in the Spanish league.
La Liga president Javier Tebas and Carlo Ancelotti have had a back-and-forth over the last several weeks. Tebas, a man who does not hold back, will likely have something to say over the next few days.
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-031bbeb5612ca252e2129722373fa56d.png "Jordan Merritt")
Jordan Merritt is a staff writer for Real Madrid On SI. Before joining On SI, he wrote at Fansided, covering Ole Miss football, basketball, and baseball. He has also written for YardBarker, Heavy Sports, and the official EFL site. Merritt is a big sports fan, spending most of his weekends watching Soccer, the NFL, the NBA, college football/basketball, and others. Before starting his career as a freelance writer, Merritt was an Engineer for over 10 years. He lives in West Yorkshire, England, and is keenly interested in sports trading cards.
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