Barcelona coach Hansi Flick has voiced his frustration over La Liga’s match scheduling, taking a direct jab at the authorities. The controversy started when the rescheduled Barcelona-Osasuna match reignited debates, especially after Barca’s appeal against the timing was rejected. Flick joined the growing chorus, criticizing the lack of consideration for player fitness.
The match against Osasuna was initially set for March 8 at Camp Nou. However, tragedy struck when Barcelona’s team doctor, Carles Minarro Garcia, passed away at the team hotel just hours before kickoff. As a result, the game was postponed just 20 minutes before it was supposed to start.
The rescheduled match is now set to take place on Thursday at 2 a.m. Bangladesh time. But Barcelona’s concerns have only grown. The final international break game ended less than 48 hours before this fixture.
Raphinha played a full 90 minutes for Brazil against Argentina on Wednesday morning (Bangladesh time). Uruguay also played just a few hours earlier, and while Ronald Araujo didn’t feature against Bolivia, he was part of the squad. With minimal recovery time, Flick had no choice but to leave both players out of the Osasuna game.
Expressing his frustration at a press conference, Flick said,
“I don’t want to share my honest thoughts on this; it wouldn’t be a good idea.”
“Our players have just returned from international duty, yet we must play this match. Yes, we can discuss whether playing tomorrow (Thursday) is the right thing to do…”
Flick’s frustration is understandable. His team faces seven matches in 20 days. While he hasn’t complained about the packed schedule itself, he raised concerns about how La Liga schedules games.
“We can also talk about playing Leganes at 9 p.m. (1 a.m. Bangladesh time) on April 12, just before the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals against Borussia Dortmund. When we play away, the kickoff is always late, and we return home very late. This isn’t ideal for player recovery.”
Flick didn’t hold back, openly criticizing La Liga’s approach compared to other domestic leagues.
“In other domestic leagues, Champions League teams don’t face such issues. It’s not good for the players’ recovery, and I’m not happy with it.”
Towards the end, his frustration boiled over as he directly accused La Liga of not protecting Spanish clubs.
“When you play in the Champions League, it’s no longer about Real Madrid vs. Barcelona. It should be about protecting Spanish clubs. But we will play; we have no complaints. We’ve accepted it. UEFA and FIFA should look into this. They talk about giving players three days’ rest after international breaks. But La Liga insists we play, and we say, ‘Yes, we will.’”
Barcelona currently sits at the top of the table with 60 points from 27 matches. Beating Osasuna would give them a three-point lead. However, Real Madrid is close behind with 60 points from 28 games, while Atletico Madrid holds third place with 56 points from the same number of matches.
