The Government does not see "opportune" the return of the public to football

The Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, wanted to cut off the plans on Wednesday to try to open the La Cartuja stadium in Seville to the public for the final of the Copa del Rey postponed last year and scheduled for April 3, between Real Sociedad and Athletic;

and for that of 2021, between Athletic and Barça, on April 17, in the same venue.

"It is not adequate, it is not timely and it is not convenient," he said after the Interterritorial Health Council meeting.

Darias fixed the position of the Government hours before the meeting that the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) will hold this Thursday with the clubs involved, the Higher Sports Council and the Junta de Andalucía, which is the administration that maintains health powers over the cup.

Darias explained that the Government will try to persuade those involved that "this is not the time": "In this sporting event, although it represents a lower percentage of the capacity, we are talking about more than 10,000 people.

They will understand that given the situation that we find ourselves epidemiologically, it is not possible.

This minister is going to work trying to seek consensus intensely so that this attendance of the public does not take place.

This is not the time, ”he said.

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Carolina Darias, Minister of Health, on public attendance at Copa del Rey matches in April: "I want to be clear and forceful. It is not appropriate. It is not appropriate and it is not convenient" https://t.co/CcrhUZfr1f pic.twitter.com/8FATt82eug

- EL PAÍS (@el_pais) March 17, 2021

The debate on the return of the public to the stadiums had been reactivated a few hours before by the president of LaLiga, Javier Tebas: "We hope that in the third week of April we can begin to have a percentage in the stadiums if the circumstances arise," he said. .

The clubs, very financially damaged by the empty stadiums, have been waiting for months, but the poor evolution of the pandemic data from the autumn has been delaying the expectation.

However, the improvement in these weeks, which has placed the accumulated incidence in Spain below 150 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, led Thebes to express intentions that it has been talking about in recent weeks with the CSD, which it retains the competition to allow public in the national professional competitions, LaLiga and the ACB.

Sources of the body chaired by Irene Lozano, however, insist on pointing out that the priority remains to control that Easter does not trigger a fourth wave, and then review the evolution of the data.

Shortly after the demonstrations in Thebes, the RFEF, chaired by Luis Rubiales, also made a public move and convened this Thursday at 4:00 p.m. in Las Rozas the finalists of the two cups to discuss organizational aspects, in particular the presence of the public.

Since last year's final between Basque clubs was postponed, Rubiales has always stated that his wish was for it to be played with spectators, and that remains his intention, although he has also insisted that health safety must prevail.

Before Darias's appearance, the Basque Government spokesman, Bingen Zupiria, had already shown himself against opening La Cartuja to the public for the Real Sociedad-Athletic final on dates in which travel between autonomous communities will be prohibited: " It does not seem like the best time to invite the public to attend a football match when we are asking people not to crowd together and not meet at home with family units with whom they do not regularly live ”.

The Basque Government has another decisive decision pending for the future of the four Eurocup matches scheduled in Bilbao, over which it has health powers.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said on Wednesday that "it will not be played in front of the empty stands."

The matches scheduled in cities that do not guarantee before April 7 that they will allow public will be transferred to another of the twelve venues that the tournament has.

According to sources familiar with the conversations with the central government, the Basque executive is inclined to allow it, but is also pending on the evolution of the data.

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