The match between Real Zaragoza and Andorra, interrupted due to snow, will take place today at 16:15.
The referee of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) on Saturday, at exactly one o’clock in the morning, ruled that The match between Real Zaragoza and Andorra, postponed due to snow, will take place this Saturday, January 20, at 16:15.
Due to snow, the match scheduled for 20:30 in La Romareda was postponed to this Friday. The impressive snowfall, which began in the capital of Aragon around 14:00, reached significant levels at 15:30 and stopped only after 21:30. In a very short time he covered the grass of the municipal stadium with a blanket up to 8 centimeters thick, which, as events progressed, became an obstacle to contention in this league match.
From the moment it was realized that the snowfall had consequences far greater than those predicted in any weather forecast issued in the previous hours, until the decision was made to suspend the match (around 21:00 ), Six hours passed unprecedented in the history of Real Zaragoza. Extraordinary in all its extent, with snow in the middle and with countless details bordering on the real grotesque.
Firstly, the Zaragoza club, which is a result of its geographical position (just over 200 meters above sea level, historical snowfalls since the Roman Empire (rare, sporadic), He does not have “special” materials on these cases. What happened yesterday was an anomalous episode: when tools were needed to quickly clear snow, They were not at hand either in quantity or in effectiveness. In this regard, there is little to blame for Real Zaragoza, who did everything they could on the trot as events unfolded and the demands of the case unfolded.
On the other hand, for a short period of 15 minutes, around 17:00, came together in conversations and discussions between those in charge of La Liga, judges, managers and managers of the two teams and the television company who has the rights to transfer, a number of factors that confused the sailor’s decision of the impossible return.
The League has said from the beginning that the priority is the game. That everything possible had to be done to achieve this. The referees immediately raised the issue of VAR (video refereeing), whose technical basis for the safe coverage of contested games from the VOR room in Las Rozas (Madrid) requires that the lines of the field be visible clearly, flawlessly and uninterruptedly. But this did not happen with a completely white field. So, either these horizontal landmarks were properly cleared and the cameras that VAR uses for its delicate mission were properly calibrated, or a match was impossible.
At the same time, the TV channel Movistar (Vamos) immediately pointed out a serious logistical problem: the mobile devices installed on the outskirts of La Romareda to broadcast the match signal, according to their work schedule every weekend, were supposed to break down this Saturday. cover the Espanyol-Villarreal B match at the Cornella-El Prat stadium in Barcelona. That is, at the end of the match with Zaragoza After dismantling all the wiring and technical devices of La Romareda, they had to travel to the city of Barcelona early in the morning to continue their work.
And of the two remaining legs on the bench, Andorra always showed a favorable position for playing the game, even if it happened on a playing field heavily modified by snow, while Real Zaragoza has always maintained that this is barbaric and a huge risk for the players. and, above all, a monumental disrespect for its subscribers and fans (most of whom will not be able to enter the stands), meet in this league duel in a scenario as rigged and risky as La Romareda Nevada was last night.
In this confusion of intentions, interests, views and various opinions, all the threads moved until the very end. a surreal film that took place at 21:00 with a final pause.
There was more than an hour and a half when it was clear from the decision centers that it was safe to play, even if there was a delay of one to two hours. La Liga and television didn’t care. that the clash scheduled for 20:30 could, if necessary, begin at 22:30.
That is why the snow was ordered to be cleared from the surface of the field. A small tractor with a front loader was brought in, and soon after another small machine was brought in to clear the lines. Club operators searched everywhere for hand shovels, several dozen. It was important to give VAR the support it needed to get going. Without VAR this would not have been possible. The first strip clearing, which was done by hand around 5:30 p.m., was covered with more snow within an hour. VAR complained from Madrid. The links could not be removed. If not, then it is useless.
TV platform He put pressure on his mobile equipment, his transmission trucks, to provide scheduled coverage of Zaragoza (hence during the match) rather than forcing them to rush off at ungodly hours. to look for a possible crew to cover the Espanyol-Villarreal B match this afternoon in Barcelona, which is what ultimately happened when the trucks transported to La Romareda had to sleep last night waiting for the Real Zaragoza-Andorra match to finally be played. discord
Meanwhile, having stepped on the snow itself in the stadium, Andorra began to express its anger at the attitude of Real Zaragoza, as it believed that the interest of Zaragoza fans in solving the pressing problem of snow removal was meager, close to zero. They wanted the game to happen. And from the very beginning, within the Aragonese formation, the holding of a football match in such extremely unfavorable conditions was not viewed favorably. Zaragoza’s leaders held a sort of “low-key” demonstration during which they expressed their irritation and surprise at the harsh positions coming from various sources. strength for this match.