Valencia and Levante matches postponed following deadly fire in Spanish city

Valencia’s LaLiga match at Granada on Saturday has been postponed following the deadly fire that hit the Spanish city on Thursday.

A three-day period of mourning has been declared in the Valencian region after the incident where, authorities have said, at least 10 people have died and others remain missing after two residential towers were destroyed by a fire.

Valencia asked for this weekend’s fixture at Granada to be postponed and neighbouring Levante, of the second tier, made the same request regarding their match with Andorra, with both requests granted on Friday.

“LaLiga, after receiving the resolution from the RFEF’s Professional Competition Judge, announces the postponement of the matches between Granada CF and Valencia CF scheduled for tomorrow, February 24th, at 14:00 and the match between Levante UD and FC Andorra scheduled for the same day at 21:00,” a LaLiga statement read.

“The postponement request made by Valencia CF and Levante UD, which had the agreement of the relevant teams – Granada CF and FC Andorra – was granted due to the shocking fire that took place yesterday (Thursday) in Valencia, resulting in the loss of human lives, with three days of mourning already decreed in the city of Valencia.

“This suspension comes in addition to the minute’s silence, as a mark of respect in mourning, which will be observed in all other (Primera and Segunda Division) matches this weekend, as was previously announced.

“The new dates and kick-off times for the matches will be provided by LaLiga in due course.”

Valencia players and coaches from the men’s, women’s and academy teams observed a minute’s silence in memory of the victims at the beginning of training on Friday.

A club statement added: “Valencia CF are devastated by the terrible fire that occurred this Thursday on Avenida Maestro Rodrigo, in the Campanar neighbourhood of Valencia, and wish to convey our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims.

“We would also like to publicly thank the emergency services for their commendable work.

“In line with the three days of mourning declared in the Valencian region, Valencia CF will fly flags at half-mast at our facilities.

“We also offer our help to institutions and emergency services for any need that they may have.”