‘Clubs have to respect protocols’ – Ancelotti on LaLiga postponement

Several LaLiga teams, including

, have been affected by coronavirus epidemics in recent weeks.

A selection issue has arisen for their fierce rivals,

, who will be missing 17 players on Sunday when they go to

.

Nine of the 17 players are missing because they tested positive for COVID-19 in the previous week, with Barcelona coach

Xavi

."

Even if postponements have been more frequent in recent weeks, LaLiga has stayed relatively unbroken thanks to restrictions that make such occurrences considerably more difficult.

Teams must continue to compete as long as they have a total of 13 players available from their first and second teams.

Clubs must field at least seven players from their senior squad at any one time; however, if a team has less than seven professionals available for selection, that number may be reduced to five players on the field.

Essentially, as long as Barcelona can identify five first-team players in a starting XI — there are 11 in the group traveling to Mallorca – their games will not be postponed, and

Ancelotti

emphasizes that any wavering in this respect would indicate a lack of consistency.

When asked whether games should be rescheduled,

Ancelotti

said,

"It's a complicated issue. I respect everyone's opinion, because each person has their own.

"A lot of teams have been affected, as we were against Athletic [Bilbao]. There are protocols. We can offer opinions but we have to respect the protocols.

"Before making these decisions [to postpone games], the protocols would have to be changed.

"We've already been on hiatus, and there were a few months without games being played. The pandemic is relatively under control, and we have to continue [playing]."

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