Barcelona have vowed to lodge a formal complaint about their record-breaking schedule after Hansi Flick raged over the toll it is taking on his players.
Flick’s side are still fighting across three competitions in the latter stages of this season and advanced to the Champions League semi-finals despite a 3-1 defeat by Borussia Dortmund in midweek, their 4-0 victory in the first leg proving enough.
They are four points clear at the top of LaLiga and look set to pip Real Madrid to the title, while they will face their fierce rivals in the Copa del Rey final next weekend.
But Flick believes they need more support from the authorities and after his squad went to sleep at 5am following their flight back from Germany on Wednesday, he unleashed a furious rant ahead of today’s league game against Celta Vigo.
After being given an earlier kick-off than desired, handing the players less time to recover from their travels, the club are expected to file a formal complaint.
A statement read: ‘FC Barcelona has already this season expressed its disagreement with the criteria set out by the Spanish Football League (LFP) and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) with regards to dates and kick off times for the first team.
Barcelona have vowed to make a formal complaint over their gruelling fixture schedule
Hansi Flick raged over the lack of rest afforded to his players, who are fighting on three fronts
They advanced to the Champions League semi-finals despite losing in Dortmund on Tuesday
‘We consider, as expressed on Friday by our coach to whom we give our total support and with whom we are in complete agreement, that governing bodies of Spanish Football should be more considerate with teams, such as ours, who are taking part in all three competitions in the final part of the season.
‘This is not a new problem, and without making light of the difficulty of organised a fixture list with so many matches, FC Barcelona will continue to defend its interests in front of the national and international organising bodies of football so that the sporting calendar makes more sense.
‘As such, FC Barcelona will make a formal complaint to the regulatory bodies of football with the aim of avoiding situations that may be to the detriment of the real stars in the world of football, the players.’
Earlier this season, Flick had questioned why Barcelona were made to play Osasuna so soon after the conclusion of the last international break.
Between that game and the loss to Dortmund earlier this week, the Blaugrana played seven matches in 19 days, or just 457 hours, representing a new club record.
Addressing the situation ahead of the visit of Celta Vigo, Flick said: ‘Do you know how many matches we have played in recent weeks?
‘And do you we play late against Valladolid? We arrive very late, maybe the players are in their beds at four or five in the morning. I don’t want to make excuses.
‘But it happens here, and I’ve never had this before. Every league protects their clubs in the Champions League, and especially in the semi-final, it’s unbelievable.
Head coach Flick unleased a furious rant at LaLiga, saying the situation was ‘unbelieveable’
Barcelona were given an earlier kick-off than desired against Celta Vigo on Saturday
‘And we have no time to rest, and I want to discuss with the guys who are responsible. Because they have no idea how it is. No idea how it is.’
Flick then added: ‘It’s just one thing. I don’t want to come here and complain or make excuses, and OK I’m happy it’s not Sunday at 2pm as it was before, now we are playing on Saturday at 9pm in the evening.
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‘Why can we not play at 6pm in the evening? Give me one reason. I want to see this guy that decides it, who is responsible for it. For me, it’s a joke.
‘I think also for bad for Spanish football. If we are successful, the other teams in the Europa League, it’s good for Spanish football. Then we have one more team that can play in the Champions League. I am speechless. I have no words for that.
‘It’s unbelievable the situation.
‘Every Federation, the Bundesliga, Premier League, takes care of their clubs, but we don’t do it here. It’s just, “ah, let them play, they can come back at five or six o’clock (in the morning).” We have just reached bed for four hours. It’s unbelievable.’
