AFE issue backing to Real Madrid amid La Liga dispute | OneFootball

Real Madrid may have won at Villarreal, but there has been a lot of anger from the club over the decision to play the match on Saturday.

The issue lies within the lack of rest that Real Madrid’s player had after Wednesday’s gruelling Champions League clash against Atletico Madrid. Carlo Ancelotti was very unhappy that his squad did have at least 72 hours between matches, and he threatened to not play if it happened again.

Real Madrid and Ancelotti have now been backed on the matter by the Spanish Footballers Association (AFE), who have issued a statement (via Marca).

“The Association of Spanish Footballers (AFE) considers it essential that players have at least 72 hours of rest between matches to preserve their state of health, both physically and mentally. A criterion marked, moreover, by the recommendations of FIFPRO, the International Federation of Professional Footballers’ Associations, of which AFE is a founding member.

“As AFE already agreed in 2020, both with the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and with La Liga, as a result of the health crisis, the minimum interval between matches to preserve the health of the players would be 72 hours. Given the increased risk of injury and the deterioration due to post-game fatigue suffered by footballers, it has always been non-negotiable for AFE to have a recovery time of between 72 and 96 hours for players who participate in two games a week.”

AFE also cited that three more La Liga clubs are in the same boat as Real Madrid, with those being the sides that were in European action on Thursday.

“In addition to Real Madrid, who in the words of their coach, Carlo Ancelotti, has expressed in a press conference his rejection of the reduction of the rest of the players between the UEFA Champions League match against Atletico Madrid and the one they have played today against Villarreal, on this matchday, the players of Real Sociedad, Athletic Club and Real Betis will not have the necessary rest between their European competition commitments and the matches corresponding to the current day of La Liga, the national competition. A circumstance, repeated over time, that generates great concern for AFE due to the consequences that, in terms of health, it can have for the players.”