Carlo Ancelotti says Real Madrid will refuse to play if they have another La Liga fixture scheduled with less than 72 hours rest beforehand.
Madrid beat Villarreal 2-1 on Saturday, but the game kicked off just under 67 hours after the conclusion of Wednesday’s Champions League last-16 victory over Atletico Madrid, which went to extra time and penalties.
Ancelotti claimed Madrid had contacted La Liga twice to ask for the time of Saturday’s game to be changed, but said this would be “the last time” such scheduling was arranged.
La Liga sources indicated Madrid did not make a request regarding the Villarreal game before the schedule for this weekend’s match round was confirmed on February 25, as La Liga protocol dictates they do must in the event of scheduling requests. The club then made a request after the schedules had been communicated.
The Champions League last-16 timetable had been announced earlier on February 21. The remaining four La Liga sides who competed in European competitions in midweek — Barcelona, Atletico, Real Sociedad and Athletic Club — all have league fixtures scheduled for Sunday.
“The explanation (for the win in the circumstances) is that this team has something special: character, commitment, so we can only thank them for their mammoth effort from January 3 until today,“ Ancelotti said in his post-match press conference.
“I think today is the last game we will play with less than 72 hours rest. We will never do it again. We have asked La Liga twice to change the time of the game and nothing has happened, but this is the last time.”
The need for a 72-hour rest period between games has been raised to FIFA by player unions, but this is not mandatory, and La Liga is responsible for the scheduling of league matches.
Mbappe scored in Madrid’s victory over Villarreal (Jose Jordan/AFP via Getty Images)
Madrid’s Champions League fixture against Atletico was scheduled for 9pm local time on Wednesday, while Saturday’s La Liga match kicked off at 6:30pm. Ancelotti confirmed Madrid would consider not turning up to fixtures if La Liga does not provide a 72-hour rest period in the future.
The Madrid manager has frequently criticised the congested fixture schedule, with the expanded Champions League format introduced this season and the inaugural Club World Cup taking place in the summer.
Madrid have encountered a number of injury problems this season and Ancelotti has highlighted the role he believes the fixture schedule has played in this.
“We’ve looked at what we can do (with injuries), but it’s not in our hands,” he said in September. “The calendar is too demanding. A new competition is coming and you don’t know how it’s going to turn out. It may or may not be more entertaining.
“But what is certain is that we have two more matches. If the governing bodies don’t start thinking that players get injured because they play too much, we have a problem. I call for the number of matches to be reduced in order to have more attractive competitions.”
Kylian Mbappe scored twice as Madrid came from a goal down to beat Villarreal 2-1 on Saturday.
They return to action after March’s international break against Leganes on March 29.
(Denis Doyle/Getty Images)
