JAKARTA - President Luis Rubiales has said the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) is determined to save the 2019-2020 season, even if plans for a resumption in early May appear unlikely.
La Liga, along with the rest of the major leagues in European football, has been suspended due to the COVID-19 or coronavirus pandemic. The last match of the top tier of Matador Country football was Real Sociedad's 2-1 win over Eibar on 10 March.
Spain has been hit hard by the COVID-19 outbreak, suffering more than 3,000 deaths and more than 47,000 cases.
The indefinite suspension of the 2019-20 season was announced on Monday amid a crisis, while the Europa League and Champions League finals will not go ahead as originally planned for the end of May.
Rubiales on Wednesday said it was possible to extend the season beyond the deadline to ensure all matches were played, rather than cutting the season short.
"The priority is to finish the season," he said at a press conference quoted by Football Espana, Thursday, March 26.
"At the moment we can't just relegate the team. The team also has to be promoted properly.
"There are hundreds of teams waiting to finish the season. When the country recovers, it will be a moment to finish the current season.
"Let's hope I'm wrong and we can play in early May. I think it's impossible, but I want to be proven wrong, we have to extend the calendar.
"The aim is to save the season. That's our idea."
However, Rubiales also confirmed the RFEF remains cautious about discussing any return dates for La Liga during extreme times in the country.
"We are working on every possible scenario, but we don't want to be predictors. We have to be very careful and thorough in setting new schedules," Rubiales told media.
"We are going through an extreme time, with a lot of deaths. We never set a time limit for restarting the game and we will not do it now.
"When that deadline arrives, we have to really show health, integrity and safety. Especially when the country returns to normal."
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