La Liga
ANOTHER PROTEST SLATED FOR NEW EL CLASICO DAY
The postponed El Clasico clash of Barcelona and real Madrid may suffer another postponement.
The match which was postponed to December 18 following a spate of political protest in Barcelona by the Catalans is under a new threat.
According to Spanish publication, Tribuna, the platform ‘Tsunami Democratic’ have announced new dates for the protests against political repression following the imprisonment of Catalan leaders last week for their participation in the Catalonia independence movement in 2017.
With new El Clasico cate announced this week, the protesters choose it too as one of the days for political action. Alongside the date ‘Tsunami Democratic’ added a comment ‘We’re playing at home’ so it would be clear that the choice isn’t a random one.
Meanwhile, according to Catalan news outlet Ara, La Liga president threatened to set the kick-off for 13:00 CET – to comply with the Asian market – so Blaugranas and Los Blancos would agree to his demand to change the date again.
Moreover, initially, Tebas even demanded the game to take place away from the Camp Nou but neither of the two clubs would agree to that. In the end, La Liga boss reminded both clubs they have the power to agree on a date. And if it comes around him, from the Competition Committee, the kick-off will be decided in La Liga office.
The president reportedly wants the game to be moved to Saturday, December 7 in order to maximize the revenue. Espanyol are in favour of this decision, as it would allow them to rest before facing CSKA Moscow in the Europa League. Mallorca don’t oppose the decision either. But both Barca and Madrid insist o December 18.
As a reminder, the game was initially meant to be played on 26 October, however, it was rescheduled due to security concerns in Catalonia. Both Barcelona and Real Madrid released their official statements where they named December 18 as their preferred date for El Clasico.
La Liga then protested the decision as they were afraid of losing part of the revenue due to the game being held on Wednesday, alongside Copa del Rey clashes.
It was mission accomplished, said Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti after his side fought back from two-goals behind to snatch a rip-roaring 4-4 draw on Tuesday for a 5-4 aggregate win that put them through to the Copa del Rey final.
Ancelotti brushed off questions about a sub-par performance by his side and praised his players’ effort in what he considered a highly entertaining encounter.
“We have achieved our goal today which was to reach the final and there is not much time to think about it,” Ancelotti told a press conference.
“It was an entertaining game with some mistakes and a lot of good things. It was fun and we are in the final.
“I never saw ourselves out of it because anything can happen at the Bernabeu. When we have to come from behind, we never give up. We never give up, especially at home, with the fans by our side.”
Ancelotti said David Alaba was not to blame after he deflected two balls into his own goal, calling it “bad luck” by the Austrian defender, but urged his defence to play with better focus moving forward.
“It’s not good to concede four goals in a game,” Ancelotti said.
“Right now we are a team that has a lot of effectiveness up-front, but little balance.
“However, we can’t ignore what we did in attack, scoring four goals against Real is not that easy. I think we are doing quite well.”
Real Madrid, who have won the Spanish Cup only once in over a decade, will play either Barcelona or Atletico Madrid in a mouth-watering final in Seville next month.
Atletico fought back to hold Barca to a thrilling 4-4 draw ahead of Wednesday’s second-leg in Madrid.
-Reuters
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Real Madrid’s legendary coach Carlo Ancelotti will go on trial next week for allegedly failing to declare income to Spain’s tax office, the Madrid court which will hear the case has said.
Prosecutors are seeking a jail term of four years and nine months for the 65-year-old Italian, accusing him of having cost Spain’s treasury more than one million euros ($1.1 million) in undeclared earnings from image rights in 2014 and 2015.
The trial will begin on Wednesday and it is expected to last two days, a spokesman for the court said.
Ancelotti, who as a coach has won a record five Champions League trophies including three with Real, must be present for the hearings, he added.
Prosecutors accuse him of only declaring in his tax returns the personal remuneration received from Real Madrid during those two years even though he himself declared himself to be a tax resident in Spain and indicated his home was in Madrid.
They accuse Ancelotti of allegedly setting up a “confusing” and “complex” system of shell companies to hide his extra earnings from his image rights as well as from other sources such as real estate.
A Spanish court in 2023 ordered Ancelotti to stand trial over the affair, but did not set a date.
Ancelotti dismissed the affair last year as “an old story that I hope will be resolved soon” when he was asked about the case.
He took over at Real Madrid in 2013, leaving in May 2015, before being appointed at Bayern Munich the following year.
The former Italy international midfielder, who as a player won the European Cup twice with AC Milan, later managed Napoli and Everton before returning to Real Madrid in 2021.
Aside from his success in the Champions League he has won domestic league titles with Madrid and Milan, in England with Chelsea, in Germany with Bayern Munich and in France with Paris Saint-Germain.
-AFP
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Spain’s former soccer chief Luis Rubiales told Reuters on Thursday he would appeal a court ruling which found him guilty of sexual assault for kissing player Jenni Hermoso without her consent.-
-Reuters
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