Pérez Llorca calls it reckless that LaLiga didn’t cancel the Levante-Athletic earlier

Alert and LaLiga’s call

Juanfran Pérez Llorca, president of the Valencian Community, has said he considers it a “reckless decision by LaLiga” that the Levante vs Athletic match in València was not suspended earlier, even though there was an amber (orange) alert for heavy rain, according to MARCA.

Speaking on Thursday after being asked whether he thinks the call was made too late, the official insisted: “They’ll have their reasons and they’ll have to explain it.” He also pointed to the City Council’s stance, saying it had recommended that the match not be played under an amber alert.

Torrential rain took over

Pérez Llorca explained that the game was ultimately suspended once rainfall became torrential in the city and, crucially, fans had already travelled to the stadium.

He added that while he understands the difference between alert levels—“if it’s a red alert, the match isn’t played; with an amber alert it can be played,” with the decision taken by LaLiga—there were moments during the storm when conditions appeared closer to a red-alert scenario than an amber one.

“Lack of guidance and training”

He also said the València City Council had warned the day before that afternoon activities would be cancelled. In his view, it is “sometimes a bit hard to understand” that the football match went ahead while other activities (such as schooling) were suspended. MARCA reports he finished by stressing that, as a citizen, he felt it was imprudent to let the match be played, even though it was ultimately called off.