Real Madrid Fails In Legal Battle To Delay Start Of League Season

Real Madrid’s campaign will start on August 19th against Osasuna.

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Despite their usual success on the field, Real Madrid has encountered a rare defeat off it as it has been beaten by LaLiga itself in a legal battle with the Spanish soccer league regarding the start of the campaign for 2025/26.

Real Madrid had hoped to delay the start of the season, scheduled for August 19th in their case with a fixture against Osasuna at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, given that their team has not had sufficient rest since they were knocked out of the FIFA Club World Cup by Paris Saint-Germain on July 9th.

As such, the squad are due back at their Valdebebas training hub for preseason training on August 4th, giving only 15 days of preparation before the start of the new season, Xabi Alonso’s first in charge.

In their legal case, Real Madrid argued that the club should be given a “reasonable period of physical and tactical preparation – usually not less than three weeks”. However, it has ultimately ended in failure.

Why did Real Madrid want to delay the start of the season?

After their involvement in the Club World Cup, Real Madrid alleged that they were unable to provide the 21 days of continuous rest as assured by the collective agreement of professional footballers in Spain.

Addressing the topic, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois hit out at LaLiga president Javier Tebas as he said, “he may not want the Club World Cup, but it exists, we are here, and he must comply with our rest and preparation”, as frustration rose at the club surrounding their treatment from LaLiga.

Diario AS was among the sources to claim that LaLiga had reached a ‘tacit’ agreement with Real Madrid captain Dani Carvajal and Atlético Madrid captain Koke, which had agreed to respect an extended rest period for the two teams. That agreement was not formalized or made public, and was later ditched by the competition.

The organization did provide Real Madrid with an extended rest period, allowing them to start their season on Tuesday, August 19th, four days after the season officially begins on Friday, August 15th, with Girona taking on Rayo Vallecano. However, they refused to delay the first fixture for Los Blancos any further.

The court’s statement after the judgement

In their findings, the Sole Judge of the RFEF Committee ruled ultimately that “the suspension and postponement of a match to a date that alters the order of the schedule may not be authorized except for reasons of unavoidable circumstance that are undoubtedly proven or covered by regulations”.

In the judgement, the court stated that “it should be noted that, based on a simple analysis of the timing of events, the National Professional Football League has fully respected the players’ vacation period when determining the start date of the domestic competition”.

“In this regard, Real Madrid played the semifinal of the Club World Cup on July 9, and the players returned to Spain the following day, having begun their rest period the next day, that is, on July 11. It is therefore clear that the 21 consecutive days established in Article 10.1 of the Collective Agreement for professional football activity are being complied with and respected.”

In the harshest part of the ruling, the court adds that, “it cannot in any way be argued that the dispute over the FIFA Club World Cup was an unforeseeable event, as both the event itself and its dates are public and well known in advance by all participating clubs, as well as by federations and leagues around the world, which have had to adjust and, ultimately, approve their competition schedules in accordance with said World Cup” and that “the voluntary participation of the applicant club in the competition that motivates its subsequent application excludes the possibility that we are dealing with an unavoidable circumstance”.