King's Cup final delayed till crisis blows over

MADRID • The Spanish Football Association (RFEF) has said it will grant the request of Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad to reschedule the King's Cup final till the time when the coronavirus is no longer a threat, so that the match can be played with fans present.

The first Cup final between the two biggest Basque clubs was due to be held on April 18 in Seville, until football across Europe was put on hold because of the pandemic.

Stakeholders are confident Spain's La Liga can resume in mid-June, some three months after it was suspended on March 12, but only behind closed doors, league president Javier Tebas confirmed on Monday.

"People's health is paramount, so we have a comprehensive protocol to safeguard the health of everyone involved as we work to restart," he said. "Circumstances are unprecedented, but we hope to start playing again in June and finish our 2019-20 season this summer."

The closed-door policy will also apply to all domestic Cup fixtures, with fans not expected to be able to attend games until next year at the earliest.

But both Bilbao and Sociedad do not wish the showpiece final - easily one of the most important matches in their history - to take place in an empty stadium and are willing to wait as long as it takes to ensure their fans can take part.

"The presidents of Copa del Rey finalists Athletic and Sociedad, after meeting the president of RFEF, have agreed to request the final is played with supporters at a later date to be agreed by the three parties," a joint statement read.

"What we want more than anything is to have a Cup final with our supporters in the stands."

The RFEF said it agreed "wholeheartedly" with the wishes for fans to attend.

"The trophy with the most prestige and tradition in Spanish football deserves a final with supporters," it said. "That's why the RFEF... will take the necessary measures to ensure the final takes place as an official competition at the opportune moment in either 2020 or 2021 and before the 2020-21 final."

La Liga players are set to return to individual training this week after being given the green light to do so, but team training will not start until mass Covid-19 testing has been performed.

REUTERS