The international break has marked a turning point in the league season around the world. In Europe , and more specifically in Spain , the matchday ended last Sunday, bringing to a close the first four rounds of LaLiga . In it, Atlético de Madrid has been one of the main protagonists after having some outstanding results in its matches.
In these first four matches, Diego Pablo Simeone 's men have played two games at the Cívitas Metropolitano . And in both rounds, against Girona and RCD Espanyol , the colchoneros' game started at 9.30pm, a difficult time for many people who go to the stadium. Something that, surprisingly, they are used to at the Atlético home ground, since in recent years, LaLiga has placed the rojiblancos' matches at the last minute.
A situation that surprises Atlético de Madrid fans who, after several months, have communicated a formal complaint to the competition. And it is no wonder, as there are more than enough reasons for the request of the Atlético de Madrid fans to be officially presented to LaLiga . The statistics reflect this, as 21:00 is a very common time to whistle the start of a match at the Cívitas Metropolitano in our national competition.
The fans' complaint
Given the difficult situation that Atlético de Madrid fans are currently experiencing, the Unión Internacional de Peñas , as the representative of those affected, has decided to speak out against LaLiga . In a statement issued last Monday, they stated that " Once again, from the Unión de Peñas, we express our deep displeasure at the schedules imposed by LaLiga. Especially the Sunday matches at 9:00 p.m., which make it impossible for supporters' clubs from outside Madrid to attend and support the team at the red-and-white stadium ."
Furthermore, as they clearly state in their statement, “ of the last 22 Atleti home league games, 15 have been at 21:00 or 21:30 and only one at 19:00 ”. A completely unsustainable situation that has led to the complaints explained above. They also add that this problem creates “ many difficulties for the presence of children and members who live far away ”.
For this reason, they are asking LaLiga to take more into account the schedules that Atlético de Madrid has suffered at home over the last year. Something that very few teams have suffered in our competition and that, in principle, should be balanced for all clubs. And surprisingly, even with these problems, the Atlético fans have not stopped filling their stadium every night.
Another example of the quality of fans that the club managed by Enrique Cerezo, Gil Marín and Diego Pablo Simeone has. However, this does not mean that fans do not ask for better times after many games played in such a complicated time slot as 9:00 p.m. So, we will have to keep a close eye on this issue to see if LaLiga takes pity on the complaints and requests, and facilitates better dates for the colchoneros.