The dilemma of the Cup final: in summer without an audience or in 2021 without a ticket to Europe

The great Basque final of the Copa del Rey, the derby of all time, has ended up locked in a dead end from which the clubs are not clear how to get out. They will not make it unscathed, that is already clear, since they do not have to make a good decision, but simply the one they consider less bad. If they decide to play this summer, as what remains of the League (in principle), they will have to do it behind closed doors; If they choose to wait until 2021, hoping that public football will be possible again, they will lose the European ticket that corresponds to the champion.

UEFA has put Athletic, Real Sociedad and RFEF in the face of having to choose. In the first instance, all three parties had decided to go for the perfect combo. They would wait to play it with the public, until a week before the 2021 Cup final if necessary, but it would still give place in Europe as if it had been played. With the current classification, in fact, both would achieve it: Donostiarras to Champions and Bilbao to Europa League, instead of seventh in LaLiga, Valencia. That decision sparked vigorous protests by Mestalla's team and prompted UEFA to make a decision: if the final is not played before August 3, their Europa League spot will go to seventh in the league.

What to do? Neither club dares to speak for the moment, as popular pressure grows in both hobbies that the final be delayed as long as necessary, even at the expense of the European square. Yesterday only Athletic spoke and did it solely to show their disagreement with the decision of UEFA, without getting wet about which of the two scenarios they prefer. And the RFEF, organizer of the competition, says that it is in favor of Athletic and Real agreeing if the final is played before August 3 or they resign from the European place and bet on playing with the public in the future. A possibility, on the other hand, lacking guarantees: nobody is able to assure right now that football with the public will be possible in 2021. Rubiales, in any case, has always been in favor of waiting to live a final with the stands full. A speech with which they mostly agree in the two locker rooms, despite the fact that there are players who, after fighting to reach the final, would not dispute it if they change teams in the summer and it is long delayed.

Now the price to pay would be high. Although the Europa League is far from the Champions League in terms of the income it reports to the clubs, the economic aspect also plays a decisive role in the decision. More in a context in which revenues have plummeted for all clubs. The last time they both played this competition was in the 2017-18 season. The Real, which fell in sixteenths, entered 9.5 million euros. And Athletic, who lived one more round alive and played two previous, collected 11.3. To these amounts we must add the international projection of the matches and the extra contribution of the sponsors.

Mendizorroza's option

La Real is, right now, fourth classified, which would bring him a place in the Champions League for next year. However, 11 days remain and although his mattress with the eighth is wide (eight points), it is no guarantee. In addition, he is only four points from the seventh, a place that requires two previous rounds before entering the group stage. Athletic, meanwhile, is tenth to five points from the seventh and eight from the sixth.

Another seemingly open front is where the final would be played in case it was done without an audience. Does it make sense for Real and Athletic to travel to Seville to play with nobody in the stands? In recent days, the Mendizorroza option has started to sound strongly and even yesterday the mayor of Vitoria, Gorka Urtaran , defended that the Alavés field would be the ideal one for a final without an audience, given its proximity to San Sebastián and Bilbao. On the other hand, in the RFEF, they do not contemplate an option other than that of the La Cartuja stadium in Seville, already confirmed venue for the next four editions, until 2023.

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