LaLiga season to restart with Seville derby on June 11, reveals league’s president Javier Tebas

LaLiga president Javier Tebas has revealed that the competition is working on a restart date of June 11, with the Seville derby to be the first fixture played.

Tebas has previously stated that there will be matches every day once Spain's top two divisions return to action after more than two months of inactivity due to coronavirus, and the kick-off moved a step closer on Saturday after the government gave the green light for football to recommence from June 8.

"Every Monday we move onto another phase (in the government's de-escalation plan)," Tebas told Movistar+. "That is why [Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez] gave the date of June 8. "We have to see, of all the days of the week, which day we start."

In recent weeks, Tebas has insisted that LaLiga were working on a start date of Friday, June 12 and he said on Sunday night: "It's for sure that it will be that weekend. It could even be Thursday, June 11. We could start with one game for the whole of Spain as a homage to what has happened (with Covid-19)."

And asked which game would be the one chosen to kick off Spain's restart, he said: "We would like it to be the Seville derby, Sevilla-[Real] Betis."

Temperatures in Spain will be soaring in the summer, when the season has usually finished, and Tebas revealed LaLiga has been working to carefully select the times and dates for fixtures with the climate in mind.

"We are working with computer programmes and we know the temperature for each day and in each place," he said. "We are looking at historical averages. That is how we are working out the schedules.

"But if there is a heatwave or a rise in the temperature, matches can be put back."

Time slots have not been finalised, but Tebas said LaLiga were looking provisionally at scheduling games at 17:00, 19:30 and 21:30, with the earlier matches to be played in cooler areas such as Cantabria.

The 57-year-old added that the protocol to return had been agreed, but claimed the number of journalists allowed into the stadiums had not been.

"We will look to guarantee the health and safety of everyone," he said. "Will will establish the norms, but they won't please everyone."

Clubs will be allowed to train in groups of 14 from this Monday, but four Sevilla players could be fined for breaching lockdown rules at the weekend, despite issuing apologies on Sunday.

"There could be disciplinary measures," Tebas said. "The players have shown their regret and that is positive. We are an example to society and we have to be careful what we do and what we publish (online).

"I would tell all the players, we can't have those attitudes. The photo is the least of it. We are putting thousands of jobs in danger. We have to be very careful with the things we do in our surroundings."

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