Less than a week after Deportivo-Fuenlabrada suspension due to an outbreak of coronavirus, there is no easy way out of a mess that had new chapters this Sunday in which the LaLiga president, Javier Tebas, was one of the main protagonists after declaring himself “solely responsible” for the trip of the Madrid team to Galicia.
With the expedition of Fuenlabrada who took the plane to La Coruña, confined in a hotel waiting for a solution, LaLiga, Fuenlabrada, Tebas himself, the Deportivo players and the Association of Spanish Soccer Players (AFE) They sealed an intense Sunday afternoon with the exchange of different communiqués that herald an end to the conflict that was not very close.
The first to make an appearance on a hectic day was Fuenlabrada. In the morning, in an official statement, he declared that he did not feel responsible for the covid-19 outbreak. Rather, he claimed to be a victim and made it clear that he had followed LaLiga's protocols and instructions prior to the match against Deportivo.
However, in two paragraphs of the aforementioned statement, confusion came about the small storm that would come later. He Fuenlabrada He said to put himself in the hands of the sports institutions to find the best solution for those affected by COVID-19 and the competition and transferred the willingness of the players and the coaching staff to recover to play the game if it were so estimated.
“In the event that the authorized sports institutions do not consider the match to be viable, in due time and form, CF Fuenlabrada will abide by the decision made by them,” he added.
After, The league He reacted and grabbed those last words from the Madrid club to launch a statement titled “LaLiga's thanks to CF Fuenlabrada.”
In what seemed like confusion, he praised the “sports generosity” shown by the entity chaired by Jonathan Praena with its willingness to accept “the pro-competition principle” and “abide by the decision chosen by LaLiga between the two solutions proposed by the Club: wait to play the game to the recovery of the players or suspend the game permanently. “
LaLiga's solution was none other than communicating to the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) his decision to permanently suspend the party and that the Elche Play the promotion playoff to LaLiga Santander.
Almost in parallel, Javier Thebes He issued a message through his Twitter declaring himself “responsible” for the trip to A Coruña for the Fuenlabrada expedition that brought the coronavirus to the Galician city. “You followed all the instructions that LaLiga gave you, it was me who made that decision. Nobody else. Soccer owes you one, ”he wrote.
Fuenlabrada's reaction was immediate. In his second statement in the afternoon he wanted to clarify that he had never given up playing the game against Sports and made it clear that the decision is also in the hands of the RFEF and of Higher Sports Council.
To further complicate matters, The league, in turn, wanted to clarify the clarification and stated that Fuenlabrada transferred to the institution chaired by Thebes a proposal with two alternatives: wait to play the game after the recovery of the players or permanently suspend it. His decision, he explained, was the second.
But, And the Fuenlabrada players? Stunned at the exchange of messages, from A Coruña at the hotel in which they are confined, they released the fifth statement in the afternoon. In it, they demanded to play the match, they reserved the right to take legal action and they appealed to the responsibility of their club to defend their interests.
Deportivo was also silent. His was the sixth communiqué of the day and declared that he suffered “an outrage” while showing his “surprise, discomfort and amazement” at the succession of messages between Fuenlabrada and LaLiga. He also expressed his intention to announce on Monday the measures they were going to adopt and his official position.
To finish, the Association of Spanish Soccer Players (AFE) He showed his support for any decision made by his constituents with the aim of defending his rights “to the end.” After 21:00, that was the last message of an afternoon in which many things were discussed and nothing was solved. The entanglement remains and no solution is in sight. The mess is still on the table.