Vigo mayor says postponing Celta-Real match was right move
On the heels of Real Madrid's postponed La Liga visit to Celta Vigo's storm-damaged Balaidos Stadium, the local mayor has suggested that going ahead with the fixture would have put "people's lives in danger."
Sunday's match was called off after a storm ravaged sections of the Galician football venue, prompting quotes from Vigo mayor Abel Caballero that Real Madrid has taken umbrage with.
Related: Celta Vigo-Real Madrid fixture postponed after storm hits Balaidos
"Once I had taken the decision at noon on Saturday, the issue was closed," Caballero told AS, courtesy of ESPN FC.
Fellow Galicians Deportivo had a visit Friday from Real Betis postponed as well, and La Liga followed suit Saturday with the suspension of the Celta-Real clash.
"I do not care about all that is said, or who says it. My technical staff decided that there was a risk to the safety of people, and no game. La Liga showed common sense and I want to believe that the Madrid directors did the same," Caballero added.
"I want to believe it, because if anyone wanted to put people's lives in danger it would be completely foolish."
After reports surfaced suggesting that Real had sent their own staff to make the necessary repairs and inquired about an alternate venue, Caballero said, "If they had said it to me, I would have laughed openly, and I would not have let anyone climb up, whether they were from Real Madrid or not. No worker could have climbed up.
"In this country there are rules that must be followed. Some people have to understand that there was a risk to people's lives. This is just football. The game will be played some other day."
Real responded to Caballero's comments Monday with a statement on the club's website, saying, "Not only are the mayor's comments inappropriate, they are also totally inaccurate, because at no point in time did Real Madrid C. F. question the security measures in place at Balaidos."
Real Madrid C. F. wishes to make it very clear that having learned of the possibility of the game being postponed more than 30 hours ahead of kick-off, the club proposed three alternatives to the Professional Football League: firstly, for consideration to be given to the possibility of repairing the damaged stadium roof; secondly, the possibility of the affected stand being closed; and thirdly, if the two aforementioned options were not possible, to look into staging the fixture at another nearby stadium. These proposals were made with a view to avoiding the postponement of the fixture from negatively impacting upon the four competitions, given the knock-on effect it would cause between them, as well as the massive financial losses suffered by television channels from around the world, which will have an impact on future tenders for the sale of broadcasting rights.
Spanish publications Marca and AS add that Real remains displeased with the situation, with the former offering, "Their annoyance is due to the lack of alternatives. Their great worry now is they will kick off next week having played three games fewer than Barca."