Real Madrid rejected! Spanish FA turn down request to delay La Liga opener despite short break after Club World Cup
RFEF's sole judge denied the appeal
Los Blancos return to training on August 4
Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱
WHAT HAPPENED?
According to Mundo Deportivo, Madrid's formal request to delay their La Liga opener against Osasuna on August 19 has been rejected by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF). The club argued that they needed more time for preseason preparation following their involvement in the Club World Cup and a mandatory 21-day holiday break.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Los Blancos hoped to push their season start to Matchday two, citing a lack of adequate training time. However, RFEF's sole referee for professional competitions, Jose Alberto Pelaez, ruled that the reasons provided didn't meet the "force majeure" criteria. He noted that the Club World Cup was already scheduled and not an unforeseen event, and Madrid were never left with fewer than 11 available players.
TELL ME MORE...
Xabi Alonso's squad is set to resume training on August 4, but with the league opener on August 19, the club claimed they wouldn't get the minimum three-week preparation window. Despite this, the judge emphasised that the three-week prep is not guaranteed under any collective agreement and that Madrid still had a full squad of 23 players. The appeal was dismissed, and the match will proceed as scheduled at Santiago Bernabeu.
WHAT NEXT FOR REAL MADRID?
Los Blancos now have 48 hours to submit an appeal to the National Appellate Committee. If that fails, the club can escalate the matter to the Spanish Court of Arbitration for Sport (CASA), however the chances of success remain slim based on the current ruling.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
New York Giants vs. Cleveland Browns: Which quarterback room would you rather have?
We're just days into the official NFL preseason, but most teams already have a firm grasp on their most important decision: Who's playing QB for us? When you've got, say, Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson in your camp, the question is answered before it's asked. Other teams have less stable situations; Indianapolis is a two-man race, while New Orleans appears to be testing whether you even need to have a quarterback at all. But among the NFL's 32 teams, two quarterback rooms stand out for their sheer chaos, volume of 'I know that guy!'s, and absolute unpredictable outcomes — two quarterback rooms that look a whole lot like a fantasy autodraft gone horribly wrong, two quarterback rooms that each deserve their own 'Hard Knocks' seasons. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] We speak, of course, of the New York Giants and Cleveland Browns. And we ask you: Which room would you rather have? Let's look at the tape: The Super Bowl-winning veteransThe next game Wilson plays in the NFL will be his 200th. He's gone from Seattle legend to, now, his fourth team in five years, following stints in Denver and Pittsburgh. After his Rocky Mountain flameout, he played well enough as a rental in Pittsburgh to earn some Comeback Player of the Year votes. This year, he'll have Malik Nabers to target, and Giants head coach Brian Daboll is pushing the propaganda-friendly line that quarterback and receiver are best pals already. Flacco, meanwhile, is pushing a line of his own: that even at age 40, he's still capable of running a team. He's now more well-traveled than a Grateful Dead roadie, going from Baltimore to Denver to the Jets to Cleveland to Indianapolis and back to Cleveland. He won Comeback Player of the year in his previous Browns stint, winning four of his five starts and leading Cleveland to a surprise (and brief) playoff berth. In his return, he's a veteran presence, but by no means a long-term one, even if he's currently QB1 on the Browns' depth chart. Verdict: Wilson's highs are likely higher than Flacco's, but his lows are lower, too. And both of their Super Bowls were a long, long time ago. The sling-it-deep-and-see-what-happens bombersThere are certain players who command your attention every time the ball is in their hands, players like Mahomes, Michael Vick … and Jameis Winston. You never quite know what Winston is going to do with his prodigious quarterback gifts, you just know it's going to be memorable. You don't get to 30 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in a season by playing it safe, after all. Winston spent last season in Cleveland basically being Jameis; for instance, against Denver, he set a Browns record by throwing for 497 yards and four touchdowns … but he also threw three interceptions and Cleveland lost. He signed a two-year deal with the Giants in the offseason; so far, he's drawn the most notice for doing the 'Thriller' dance during practice: The Cleveland QB1 role isn't quite Pickett's to lose, but he has a wide-open highway in front of him. Coming off a 3-14 season, the Browns can't exactly afford to waste another year waiting for the right QB prospect to develop (or drop in their laps via the draft). That gives Pickett, now in his fourth season and the proud owner of a Super Bowl ring via the Eagles, the opportunity to leapfrog Flacco and stiff-arm his younger challengers. Pickett has taken the majority of first-team snaps this offseason, but head coach Kevin Stefanski is also giving Flacco all the room he needs to prove himself. Verdict: Pickett has the edge here, but for sheer chaos, you can't match Winston. He might lead you to victory, he might burn your house down, he might do both at once … but it'll never be routine. The 'Hey, you never know' guysJersey-born can't-say-his-name-without-using-your-hands Tommy DeVito is one big win away from having a TV movie made about his life; he joined his hometown Giants as an undrafted free agent before the 2023 season, and he's since started eight games. After a Jeremy Lin-esque three-win streak in 2023, he's since settled back to earth, and could be the casualty if the Giants decide to keep Winston. Despite being drafted in the third round, well before his more heralded teammate (see below), Gabriel has struggled throughout training camp with both accuracy and injury. The reigning Big Ten MVP and All-American with Oregon is finding the sledding a whole lot tougher in the NFL. Gabriel has the tools to succeed, but does he have the time? Verdict: DeVito's longevity is serving him well; he's the embodiment of the old cliche that the best ability is availability. Shedeur Sanders and the guy drafted 119 spots before Shedeur SandersThe Giants have had some success in the past with quarterbacks out of Ole Miss, so their decision to take Dart as the second quarterback off the board wasn't entirely a surprise. Dart slung his way through the SEC, and he'll get a significant chance to demonstrate his skills this weekend in the first preseason game against Buffalo. He's had an up-and-down preseason, but his first live-fire performance should go a long way to demonstrating how ready he is to take over Wilson's job … and how soon that might happen. You know the deal with Sanders — the presumptive (at least in his own camp's mind) first-rounder fell all the way to the fifth in this year's draft. The NFL media has covered his performance in Browns camp with a scrutiny usually reserved for papal conclaves, but even so, he remains mired at fourth in the Browns' unofficial depth chart. Whether this is a case of insufficient reps or insufficient coaches' confidence doesn't really matter; Sanders is buried, and he's going to need a lot more than daily sports-talk yellers advocating for him to climb out of it. And that's not the only bad roster news for Sanders … Verdict: Dart has a clear, if lengthy, path to the starting gig in New York. Sanders' path is nowhere near as clear, though it's going to be well-lit with national spotlight wherever it goes. Bonus: The fifth man in the three-man QB roomCleveland apparently has decided to build the entire team out of quarterbacks, signing Tyler Huntley as a free agent this week. (Also, Gabriel and Pickett are nursing minor injuries, but that's a much less fun explanation.) After making the Pro Bowl in relief of Jackson in Baltimore in 2022, Huntley has bounced between practice squads. He adds a new wrinkle to the Cleveland chaos, doesn't he? Overall verdict: In this choice of dog's breakfast vs. buffet leftovers, we go with the Giants, if only because they have the more stable situation at No. 1 and the more likely QB-in-waiting in Dart. But since both of these franchises play in some of the game's toughest divisions — and because both franchises are more cursed than an Egyptian tomb — that could flip by halftime of Week 1. Buckle up.
Associated Press
26 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Jorge Costa, Champions League winning captain of Porto, dies at 53
PORTO, Portugal (AP) — Jorge Costa, who captained Porto to the 2004 Champions League title, died Tuesday of cardiac arrest, the club said. He was 53. Costa, a central defender who made 50 international appearances for Portugal, was Porto's director of football at the time of his death. The club's said in its announcement that Costa embodied Porto's values: 'dedication, leadership, passion, and an unwavering spirit of conquest.' Portuguese media reported that Costa sustained cardiac arrest at the club's training center and was transported to São João Hospital. Costa's finest achievement in his playing career was as captain of Jose Mourinho's Porto team that was a surprise winner of the Champions League in 2004. A year earlier, he lifted the second-tier UEFA Cup. Costa also helped Porto win eight Portuguese league titles. He spent a short period on loan at English team Charlton in the 2001-02 season. 'To hear of a life taken at 53 is never nice to hear, but he's a former teammate who had such a great standing in the game and captained a Champions League winning side,' said Steve Brown, chair of Charlton's ex-players' association. 'He was loved at Charlton, a man mountain of a player and a great guy too.' ___ AP soccer:
CBS News
26 minutes ago
- CBS News
Patriots training camp takeaways: Pats hold walkthrough ahead of joint practice with Commanders
Patriots training camp will really ramp up Wednesday when the team welcomes the Washington Commanders into Foxboro for a joint practice. With that in mind, head coach Mike Vrabel dialed things back a bit on Tuesday. After a padded practice that lasted over two hours on Monday, the Patriots shed the pads and held a walkthrough behind Gillette Stadium on Tuesday. The action should come fast and furious Wednesday when the Patriots and the Commanders share the practice field, as Vrabel and Washington head coach Dan Quinn map out the best way for the two teams to join forces and get their work done ahead of Friday night's preseason opener. For Patriots players, they can't wait to get pads back on and go hit someone other than their own teammates. "It's going to be really good for us. Really good to compete against someone else and see different things we haven't seen yet. It will be really good to sharpen our tools," Kyle Dugger told me after Tuesday's walkthrough. "It's a great opportunity." Here are some of the takeaways from Tuesday's practice, which was the 11th of Patriots training camp. Cornerback Marcellas Dial joined Christian Gonzalez on the DNP list, after he was carted off Monday with a leg injury. Linebackers K'Lavon Chaisson and Jahlani Tavai both spent their Tuesday on the lower conditioning field, while defensive lineman Jacquelin Roy was missing from the defensive side. On offense, linemen Morgan Moses and Sidy Sow were both on the lower field, and I didn't spot tight end Tyler Davis. Receiver Kendrick Bourne missed his second straight practice after he suffered an injury last Friday night, and isn't expected to take the field for New England the rest of the week. Veteran Carlton Davis lined up as one of the team's top corners on Tuesday. He's been taking part in the team's walkthroughs, but has missed padded practices so far this summer. We'll see if he's out there Wednesday when things get taken up a notch. DJ James lined up opposite Davis late Tuesday, as he continues to climb the team's depth chart. James had a number of quality battles with receivers on Monday, and earned the praise from Kayshon Boutte on Tuesday. "DJ has done a tremendous job stepping up filling in that role," said Boutte. "He's kind of a smaller corner, but he's giving us the looks that we need. Shout out to him." Boutte has had an excellent summer and has already earned a spot in Drake Maye's receiving corps. It's not a luxury Javon Baker has at the moment, but the second-year receiver got some snaps with New England's top offense Tuesday alongside Boutte, Stefon Diggs, DeMario Douglas, Mack Hollins, and Kyle Williams. Getting some first-team reps could have been a reward for Baker after he had a solid day of practice on Monday, While Will Campbell and Morgan Moses figure to be the team's starting tackles, the Patriots could definitely use a swing tackle for some depth. Campbell is going to have his share of rookie growing pains, and the 34-year-old Moses has racked up a lot of NFL miles over his career. With that in mind, Vederian Lowe took some reps at right tackle on Tuesday. He worked on the left side Monday. With Moses on the conditioning field, Marcus Bryant was the starting right tackle and got a lot of run in the position on Tuesday. Defensive coordinator Terrell Williams was back on the field with the team after he had to leave Monday's practice to get treated for dehydration. Here come the Commanders! After Vrabel chats with reporters at 10 a.m., the Patriots will take the field with the Commanders for a joint practice around 10:15 a.m. Wednesday morning.
