Valencia and Levante have formally requested that La Liga postpone their respective matches this weekend in light of a tragic fire that occurred in the Spanish city on Thursday.
The devastating blaze, which engulfed two connected apartment blocks, resulted in the loss of at least four lives, with up to 15 individuals reported missing, according to Valencia’s emergency services.
Valencia is slated to play an away fixture against Granada in La Liga on Saturday at 2 p.m. local time. Seven hours later, Levante, a second division team, is scheduled to host FC Andorra in Valencia.
“The club deeply regrets what happened, wants to send a lot of strength to all the victims and publicly thanks the commendable work of the emergency services,” Valencia CF said in a statement.
“This Friday, the players and coaches of the men’s first team, the women’s first team and the VCF Academy teams will observe a respectful minute of silence at the beginning of their training sessions in memory of the victims.
“Likewise, the club has processed the request to postpone this Saturday’s match against Granada CF at the Nuevo Los Cármenes Stadium.”
Valencia also said it would fly flags at the club’s facilities at half-mast in line with the three days of mourning declared by the city.
Levante said in a statement they had requested for their game to be postponed and added: “We join in the pain of the families and friends of the victims and we express our gratitude to the emergency services for their commendable work in this terrible event.”
Following the tragic fire in Valencia, several other clubs across Spain expressed their condolences to the affected city.
“FC Barcelona offers its condolences to the families of the victims of the fire in Valencia and lends its support to those affected,” Barcelona wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
In a statement on their website, Real Madrid said: “Real Madrid C. F., its president and its board of directors would like to express their deepest sympathy for the victims of the fire that has affected the city of Valencia in the last few hours and express their solidarity with all those affected and with all the people of Valencia.”