Getafe President: 'We won't play against Inter, UEFA can decide whatever they want'
- Apollo Heyes
"There won't be any match, we're not going to Milan.”
The 67-year-old Spaniard discussed the Coronavirus emergency and how they have requested to postpone to game for the safety of their fans, staff and players.
"Negative situation, as much here in Madrid as in Milan. Health comes first and we have decided not to travel, whether the match is postponed or moved to another location, so that no one takes unnecessary risks. Now we are waiting for the answers from UEFA and Inter. We believe that health comes before football and we respect this principle by accepting all the consequences.”
Torres then highlighted how the work of the Spanish government may leave them stranded in Italy.
“They’ve issued a decree preventing flights from Italy to Spain, so we could go but we couldn't come back...”
The Getafe president touched on how it is essential to postpone the game to protect peoples’ health.
"I do not ask for special permission to endanger the health of my expedition. Special permits are requested for urgent matters, and a football match does not respond to any urgency, it can be postponed or moved elsewhere. That doesn't make any sense. Football is important but not essential, health is essential. Let them postpone it or decide what they want.”
Torres then spoke about Inter and how the game isn’t important enough to justify the risk of being infected with Coronavirus.
"I think they agree, it's a matter of common sense, of respect for human beings. Any football match is less important than human life. Even if we don't play against Inter, my life goes on. Which is not so certain if I get coronavirus. UEFA can say what they want, I don't care. I've spent my whole life not playing in UEFA’s competitions and I've reached the age of 70. I don't play with health or the idea of putting a good number of people at risk of infection. And anyway, on the one hand the Spanish government has prevented flights from Italy to Spain and on the other hand the Italian government has stopped all football. And if they stopped football it won't be on a whim I think, will it?”
The Getafe president revealed that they are still waiting for a response from UEFA, although one is expected later today.
“They told us they're going to make a decision today. However, in order to remove any doubt whatsoever, we have already made the decision in their place, let them not travel, let them do what they want. If they want to postpone, if they want to move the game to another city, let them do so. I understand everyone but I won’t put my team's health at risk. And I would like to stress that Inter are not to blame, the logical thing is that if they stop the league in Italy so as not to take risks, what is the point of having a team from a city, Madrid, that already has 1000 infected? As if they don't already have enough infections in Italy, but yes, let's bring someone else from outside. It's an unnecessary risk and what's more, with the government ban on flying from Italy to Spain...”
Finally, Torres highlighted how it may be a good idea to move the game to a neutral stadium, to lower the risk for all involved.
"It would be the most logical thing. Send it back and move it to another city outside Italy. Although I think it won't be easy to find a country that wants to welcome two teams coming from a risk zone, coming from two cities with a high number of contagions like Milan and Madrid. Maybe in 15 days things will change. In the meantime, let's see what happens today.”
For more news, visit our homepage!