La Liga president Javier Tebas has confirmed plans for the league to return on 12 June as long as Spain can stay on top of the coronavirus outbreak.
League officials have always been adamant that football should return at some point, but there have been plenty of suggestions as to when that would be.
Leganés manager Javier Aguirre recently claimed to have been informed that 20 June was the scheduled return date, but Tebas has since confirmed on El Partidazo de Movistar that the plan is to come back eight days earlier.
“I’d like the restart date to be 12 June but we have to be careful, it will depend on society as a whole,” Tebas said. “We have to be very careful and focused on following the health measures.”
“We have to adapt to the circumstances, very difficult circumstances not only for football but also for the whole country and businesses. We’ve worked on health protocols, from the return to training right up to when the matches restart.
“I trust that everyone involved will adhere to the health measures put in place in and around our players. If we’ve been able manage the situation so that we only have five positive results among our players, and moreover for these cases to be in the final stages of the virus, what I ask now is the upmost focus on adhering to the health measures, because if we stick to them we’ll restart the competition with very few or no infections.”
Tebas’ message comes after a handful of La Liga players tested positive for coronavirus. An official league statement said that there was five cases in Spain’s top two tiers, but other reports have suggested that number could be at least six in La Liga alone.
“The two leagues will restart at the same time,” he added. “LaLiga SmartBank will play the promotion play-offs under the same conditions as always.
“Once LaLiga restarts, there’ll be football every day. The risk during games will be zero, or practically zero.
“We won’t be able to have fans in the stadiums, but the alternatives will be very interesting and groundbreaking when it comes to football broadcasts.”
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