Why was the game suspended in Granada and not other times?

SPORTS / By Carmen Gomaro

Unai Simón received the bitterest ovation of his football career at Nuevo Los Cármenes. The Athletic Club goalkeeper walked halfway through the field in the 17th minute of the match to warn the referee team led by referee Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias that there was an incident with a fan in the stands of the stadium.

After suspending the match, something with which the referee had already threatened a few minutes before, the emergency services as well as the doctors from both teams moved to the Preference stands to attend to a fan of about 70 years old, a subscriber for 16 years. of the Nasrid team, who had suffered a cardiac arrest.

Almost an hour later, the worst news was confirmed.. “Granada informs that the match against Athletic corresponding to matchday 16 of LaLiga EA SPORTS is suspended indefinitely after the death of a season ticket holder in the Los Cármenes stands,” the Nasrid club reported in a statement.

The players were already in the locker room, after remaining on the field for 20 minutes, waiting for the outcome of this terrible incident.. Once the news was confirmed, representatives of Granada, Athletic Club and LaLiga met with the match referee and it was decided to definitively suspend the match.. This was communicated by the club over the public address system to those attending the clash who offered heartfelt applause to the Granada fan who had not been able to overcome the stoppage suffered in the stands.. It was the second ovation of the afternoon with bitter overtones.

Soon, expressions of condolence for the family of the Granada fan followed one another.. The first, those of Athletic and those of the deceased's club. “From the entity we want to send our most sincere condolences to the family and friends, as well as to the entire Granada family,” they wrote from the Nasrid entity.. “We are deeply afflicted,” concluded the General Director of Granada CF, Alfredo García, in the condolences conveyed by the club on its social channels.

But they also came from Athletic Club, the Royal Spanish Football Federation, LaLiga and many of the clubs that make up the competition.. “It was a shame that the match had to be suspended but there is nothing more important than life,” declared Jon Uriarte, the president of Athletic Club.

The general director of Granada also thanked the “behavior” of the Bilbao team not only for their performance at the time when the spectator suffered that cardiac incident but also afterwards.. Both clubs quickly reached an agreement with LaLiga so that the referee Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias decreed the definitive suspension of the match.

No protocol

According to LaLiga sources consulted by ELMUNDO, there is no action protocol regarding the suspension of a match after an incident of these characteristics in the stands.. The power to do so rests with the match referee, so he will be the one to make the final decision after consulting the parties, the stadium Security coordinator, the LaLiga match director and analyzing the circumstances of the specific case.. The minutes of yesterday's match stated that the representatives of both teams “by mutual agreement” informed Ortiz Arias that they did not want to continue playing the match, so the referee decided to permanently suspend him.

This is not the first time the game has been stopped due to an incident of this nature.. In the Cádiz-Barcelona match last season, a similar incident temporarily suspended the match so that emergency services could attend to a fan who had suffered another cardiac arrest.. “If a misfortune had happened, we would have suspended the game. We are talking about a human life and that is above football,” said Xavi, at the time. The general director of Granada expressed himself today in the same sense, speaking about how “football takes a backseat” when an incident such as the death of this fan occurs.

The match, by the way, was with a 0-1 advantage for Athlétic Club after a goal by Iñaki Williams in the 6th minute. At the last minute, the new date was defined for the resumption of the little more than 70 minutes remaining in the match.. The competition judge of the Royal Spanish Football Federation decided that the match would resume this Monday the 11th at 9:00 p.m.. Granada, as EL MUNDO learned, initially announced that it would appeal the decision but that “it would abide by what sporting justice imposes”. However, its sports director said in a nightly radio program that in the end they will not even appeal despite the fact that they believe it should not be played.