Why do Real Madrid have to play early Wednesday morning?

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

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

The reason comes from the fact that Xabi Alonso and his team just participated in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, 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 approve, because according to the collective labor 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 still flexible to move the schedule from 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 2:00, at the Bernabeu - making the opening match of the season for "Los Blancos" 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