The Real Madrid coach had wanted LFP to schedule their La Liga fixture against Rayo Vallecano at 5pm local time against the favoured 8pm which will put dependence on lighting arrangements into play.
Real Madrid’s La Liga fixture on the road against Rayo Vallecano at the Campo de Futbol de Vallecas was aborted following acts of vandalism at the stadium. The match had been postponed to Monday, 24 September, to make sure fixture list is not cramped up
in the future.
In the wake of the announcement, Jose Mourinho suggested that the fixture should not be played at its 8pm kickoff time and should be organized earlier.
The Portuguese trainer gave a 5pm time for the match to start, backing up his advice with claims that they will not need to depend on artificial lighting if his suggestions are put in action.
In an unlikely manner, Real Madrid head into La Liga fixture trailing their lesser known cross town cousins. Los Blancos have 4 points from their 4 domestic outings, while Rayo Vallecano have 7 from a similar number of games.
“Given how tight the schedule is, it is best to play the game on Monday and at 5pm, because we are not assured that by 8pm [when it is dark] the problem will be resolved,” Jose Mourinho reflected.
“That is the time that Mourinho has asked for and that we will support.”
“This is a problem for them [Rayo]. We are here to defend our club. We have no responsibility for what happened. We are separate from this issue and no-one wants to defend our rights.”
However, Spanish Football Federation has not welcomed the statements of Jose Mourinho, completely disregarding the suggestions put forward. LFP Vice-President, Javier Tebas, stated that they have decided on the timing of the lesser known Madrid derby and
will be following up on it.
Continuing on the topic, Tebas stated that such decisions are in the jurisdiction of LFP and they will not have input from Real Madrid or anyone else.
“It doesn’t matter what Real Madrid say. The Federation control the times and it has been decided that they will play at 8pm [local time],” Vice-President Javier Tebas told Europa Press.
“The decision is that of the LFP. The game is being played at 8pm and there is no more to say. It is an agreement also with the television broadcaster.”
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