Why do Real Madrid have to play early Wednesday morning?

Real Madrid will kick off their 2025/26 La Liga campaign by hosting Osasuna at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday (August 20) at 2am - a rare fixture for the opening round of the Spanish league.

Real Madrid are set to take on their first match of the new La Liga season.

The reason comes from Xabi Alonso and his team just participated in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, where they stopped in the semi-finals against PSG on July 9. After this tournament, Real Madrid requested to postpone the opening match to have more time to train and recover. The Spanish Footballers' Association (AFE) also supported this request.

However, La Liga did not agree, because according to the collective bargaining agreement, players are only allowed a maximum of 21 consecutive days off - and Real Madrid fully complied. The regulations did not mention extending the pre-season. However, the organizers were flexible enough to move the weekend to Wednesday, which was considered a partial concession.

Real Madrid continued to appeal to the Spanish Football Federation, but the final decision from the sole judge in charge of discipline still sided with La Liga. The result: the clash between Real Madrid and Osasuna will take place on Wednesday (August 20) at 2pm, at the Bernabeu - making the opening match of the "Los Blancos" season more Champions League than the familiar atmosphere of La Liga weekend.

Source: https://znews.vn/vi-sao-real-madrid-phai-da-vao-rang-sang-thu-tu-post1577674.html