MADRID (REUTERS) – Spanish football and music fans breathed a sigh of relief on Monday (May 17) after La Liga announced a third set of fixture changes within 12 hours to ensure there were no games with the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday overlap.
La Liga has now postponed all games of the title race, the relegation battle and the battle for places in next season’s European competitions to 6 p.m. on Saturday (midnight on Sunday, Singapore time).
The Eurovision Song Contest, which typically attracts a global television audience of around 200 million people, begins three hours later.
In the first game change, La Liga brought Eibar’s game against Barcelona from Sunday to Saturday after Eibar’s relegation. Just over an hour later, the game was reset to its original time as the outcome could have an impact on who was still relegated.
In a third change, La Liga announced on Monday that several other games have been postponed, including Villarreal’s game against Real Madrid from Sunday to Saturday.
Villarreal director Fernando Roig Negueroles had previously accused La Liga of “disrespect” by not rearranging the game to give his club more time to focus on the Europa League final against Manchester United on May 26th to prepare.
The game against Real, who is still in the title race, will now take place on Saturday at 6 p.m. – at the same time as title rivals Atletico Madrid, who are two points above their city rivals, travel to Valladolid.
