Dimitris Kouimtsidis
FOOTBALL in Spain is due to resume a day early, with the second half of an abandoned match, it has been announced.
La Liga is due to restart on June 11, with the Sevillano derby between Sevilla and Real Betis kicking everything off, before the rest of the league, along with the Segunda Division take to the pitch on June 12.
However, it has now been announced that on June 10, Rayo Vallecano and Albacete will play out the second half of their abandoned game from December 15.
The match between the two sides was abandoned at half time when Rayo fans chanted that Albacete’s striker, Roman Zozulya was a ‘Nazi’.
The match was goalless when it was decided to be stopped at half-time.
This was the first time that a match in Spain had been abandoned due to offensive chanting and Rayo was ordered to pay an 18,000 fine.
The match was originally rescheduled to be played behind closed doors, but a date had not yet been fixed, but the coronavirus crisis has now made that possible, as fans will not be allowed at the grounds in order to prevent the spread of the virus.
Ukrainian international Zozulya joined Rayo on loan in 2017, but the deal was cancelled after some fans said the town was ‘not a place for Nazis.’
In an open letter to Rayo fans in 2017, Zozulya claimed ‘a misunderstanding by a journalist who knows very little about the reality of my country and my own career’ led to the belief he was involved in the far-right movement in Ukraine.
The 30-year-old has always denied any links to far-right groups.
