Can Real postpone their match against Alavés?

The outbreak of covid in La Real with the presence of 10 positives in its squad for the moment does not put at risk the dispute of the match on January 2 against Alavés. The regulations are clear to this effect and indicate that as long as the club has 13 footballers available between its first team and the subsidiary, the match can be played.

The rule in question is contained in circular 95 of the RFEF which reads the following: “In the event of impossibility of holding a meeting as a result of events related to the COVID pandemic, such as the minimum unavailability of at least 13 qualified footballers between players of the first team and dependent or subsidiary teams, the impossibility of travel due to sanitary prohibitions, the closure of facilities provided that this situation occurs within 48 hours prior to the dispute of the match or others of a similar nature arising from the covid, it must be agreed to postpone the match to a new date according to the rules indicated below. The maximum number of postponements for First Division clubs for the reasons indicated above will be a single match and two matches for Second Division clubs “.

Likewise, in the second provision of the same circular it is indicated that “the minimum number of footballers in the first squad (7) of article 223 (article 246 of the new edition pending approval by the CSD Board of Directors) will fully follow in force during the development of the entire competition except when the causes of COVID described above operate in which case the minimum number of licensed players of the first team for the dispute of the match and throughout the

development of the same that will be 5 players from the first team, unless the club had a greater number (up to 7) of players from the first team authorized for the match.

Due to COVID causes, the minimum availability will be increased to 13 players between the first team and the dependent teams or subsidiary club included in this section “.