Real Madrid fullback Dani Carvajal made a valid point regarding coronavirus just hours before the La Liga board, Spanish Football Federation, and Association of Spanish Players are to meet to discuss the issue.
"Are the players, coaches, and assistants in the Primera and Segunda immune?" Carvajal posted to his Instagram story Wednesday morning. As more and more football leagues postpone and close stadium doors to fans, the Los Blancos defender is making a valid argument here.
Unlike Serie A which made the decision to cancel matches outright for the next three weeks, La Liga and Ligue 1 decided to play their next two weeks of matches in empty stadiums.
This decision is detrimental to Real Madrid as it will take away their home-field advantage when they host Eibar and Valencia the next couple of weekends.
Canceling matches would throw a wrench in the scheduling for the remaining 11 matches – and with the Euro international tournament taking place this summer – this is uncharted territory for UEFA and the governing bodies in each country.
After watching the Valencia – Atalanta Champions League match on Tuesday in an empty stadium, Dani is right to want to postpone the league for a bit since the health of the general population is the biggest concern right now.
In the United States, every professional league has banned media members from entering locker rooms or being in close proximity to coaches and players. In Spain, similar measures are being taken as Zinedine Zidane’s pre-match press conference scheduled for Thursday afternoon was also canceled.
So why are the players, coaches, and staff allowed to be in close quarters with the coronavirus affecting so many?
I don’t want to see La Liga get postponed, of course, but having no fans attend matches really bothers me. What is the point of playing if the fans can’t be there to enjoy and cheer on their clubs?
There is a very good chance the meeting today sees matches outright canceled for the coming weeks, and at this point, I think a lot of people wouldn’t be all that against it.