The Athletic and Real Sociedad have informed a statement together that have asked the RFEF to postpone the final of the Cup of the King until it is possible to discuss it with the public in the stands. With this decision, the two clubs implicitly assume to dispute said final next season, surely already in 2021, and to resign the place for the Europa League 2020/21 that corresponds to the champion of the competition.

The final decision is now in the hands of the RFEF, whose intention from the outset has been for the clubs to come to an agreement and decide together the fate of the final. The only thing that both clubs request is that the RFEF guarantees that, when it is played, the Cup retains the consideration of official title, for which it requests the approval of the Delegate Commission at its meeting this Friday.

Athletic and Real Sociedad have been forced to make this decision after UEFA notified RFEF that, if the final was not played, the European place that corresponds to the champion would go to the seventh place in the League. In the first instance, Rubiales had presented the two clubs with a scenario in which, even if the final was postponed, at least one of the finalists would be guaranteed access to Europe for the next season.

In this way, the clubs fulfilled the double objective of playing the final with the public in the stands and guaranteeing that place for the Europa League . With that possibility thrown out by UEFA, Athletic and Real have decided to prioritize playing with the public over the European plaza. "The desire and will of both clubs has always been, now and before, to play the final with the presence of our fans and fans. It is what we would like most. A Cup Final with our fans in the stands, " emphasize the two institutions in their statement. Both drag more than three decades without winning a Cup title.

In this way, and in the absence of ratification by the RFEF, it is confirmed that the Cup final will not be held behind closed doors this summer , which also alleviates an already very congested schedule. The limit for their dispute, according to Rubiales transmitted to the two clubs, will be a week before the Cup final of the 2020/21 season. If at that point the presence of the public in the stands is still not sanitary, the final must be played behind closed doors or directly canceled.

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