Barcelona: Spanish football has another spat on its hands.
The national football federation took issue with the Spanish league over its management strategy for the second time in a week when it criticised the scheduling of games during what it considered the excessive heat of daytime.
The federation run by Luis Rubiales said it would try to take control of match scheduling if La Liga continues to hold matches in daytime heat.
The federation issued a statement to express its “displeasure that matches are still being played each weekend under temperatures that are over 30C with the problems that cause athletes and fans”.
Sevilla versus Levante started at noon local time on Sunday, with Villarreal hosting Valencia at 4.15pm. Both matches featured water breaks in each half due to the high temperatures.
Villarreal coach Javier Calleja complained about the heat, and the time of the match.
“We have to find a better time (to play),” Calleja said after the 0-0 draw. “It was very hot today and it was not the best time. Today we all suffered, above all the players.”
The league’s heat protocol allows it to push back the time of matches if temperatures are expected to reach 35C.
Prior to the federation statement, Rubiales wrote on Twitter “If La Liga maintains these crazy playing times, we will recover the power” to schedule matches. His tweet included a photo of woman who appeared to be receiving medical attention at a stadium, apparently for a health problem related to the heat.
League president Javier Tebas responded to Rubiales on Twitter by saying: “My friend Luis Rubiales, you cannot recover what is not yours.”
The dispute over times is the second run-in between the league and federation in a matter of days.
On Friday, the federation responded to the league’s request to play a regular-season match between Barcelona and Girona in the United States with a letter listing several problems it finds in the plan.
