Finalissima: there is still no agreement between UEFA and Conmebol but a ‘neutral’ option emerged
Less than two weeks before the date marked on the calendar to play the match, the Finalissima between Spain and Argentina It still does not have a confirmed venue and its celebration is becoming more complicated by the minute. In the last hours an option emerged that seems to be the last before cancellation.
The Finalissima between Spain and Argentina moves away
On Friday and Saturday there were meetings between UEFA and Conmebol but there was still no agreement and the time increases the possibility that the match will be cancelled.
The main problem is the venue for the meeting scheduled for March 27 after Qatar was ruled out due to the war in the Middle East.
As reported by Diego Monroig, UEFA maintains its idea of playing at the Santiago Bernabéu, but the AFA and Conmebol consider that the neutrality agreement for this final is broken.
Later, Gustavo Yarroch He stated that the option of Milan as the headquarters arose, with the San Siro as the host stadium. According to this information, UEFA proposed March 27 or 29 as possible dates, while AFA would like to play it on March 31. .
The Italian headquarters would give the neutrality that Argentina wants, but there are still no details as to whether it will be accepted and when the match would be played. If an agreement is not reached, the cancellation of the meeting would take even more force.
The chronology of the conflict between the RFEF and the AFA
It all started on Thursday, when the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) proposed playing the match at the Santiago Bernabéu, where logistics and security were assured. However, the AFA, led by Chiqui Tapia, rejected the proposal.
In the evening, CONMEBOL president Alejandro Domínguez met with Tapia to try to reach an agreement, but no progress was reported. The Argentine leader counterproposed the Monumental stadium as a response to the European election.
On Friday, Diego Monroig reported that If UEFA and Spain remain firm on the decision to play in Madrid and there are no other options, the match could be canceled or suspended.
The president of the RFEF himself, Rafael Louzanpublicly requested this Tuesday that the match be played on the Old Continent: “Most of the players are in Europe, both from Spain and Argentina. Therefore I think it seems logical that that is what could finally happen.”
However, sources of the Argentine Football Association (AFA) informed Diego Monroig on SportsCenter that the organization “never gave the OK for it to be played in Spain” and that they were “surprised” by the versions that began to gain strength in the last few hours. For this reason, the sources assure that they are studying go to CONMEBOL to present the opposition formally.
The RFEF source, for its part, offers another perspective, and understands that Madrid would be a good solution for both the Spanish and Argentine players because the majority of the players in both squads play in Europe and, therefore, they would have a shorter trip.
Furthermore, the source from the Spanish Federation assured that they would take measures to mitigate “locality” Spanish in the meeting and Bernabéu tickets would be distributed equally to please the River Plate immigrants living in Spain.
The change of venue for the Finalissima had been on the lips of several protagonists, in particular from the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. In addition to Louzán, the Spanish coach had also expressed himself Luis de la Fuentethe first to request the move from Qatar, as well as the Spanish Footballers Association (AFE), the main union in the country in this matter.
Aimar asked to play “where it is safe”
On the Argentine side, the only protagonist who spoke out on the issue to date was Pablo Aimarfield assistant Lionel Scaloni. The Clown was consulted by Chain 3 about where the match against Spain could take place, and despite claiming to have no information about the possible venue, he asked to play “whenever possible, where it is safe“.
In addition, the former River, Valencia and Zaragoza footballer was patient in preparation for the World Cup: “There is still a long way to go. There are games, leagues, issues that happen minute by minute in football.. Nobody is thinking about anything other than that, Things are happening and when the World Cup has to come, it will come“.
