BEVERLY HILLS, April 28, (THEWILL) – There are indications that Brazilian defender Marcelo of La Liga defending champions Real Madrid may be unavailable for the return leg of Real’s UEFA Champions League semi-final fixture against London’s English Premier League side Chelsea at Stamford bridge on Wednesday, May 5.
Reports monitored by THEWILL from Madrid put the possibility of the muscly defender, Marcelo Vieira da Silva Júnior, known simply as “Marcelo”, missing the tie down to the player’s election duty in Spain.
It was revealed on Wednesday that the defender had been selected to work at a polling location for next Tuesday’s Assembly elections in Madrid. Coincidentally, it is the same day the club is scheduled to travel to England ahead of Wednesday’s crucial return fixture against the Chelsea.
With qualification to the final of this year’s UCL up for grabs, the semi-finals between the two sides are delicately poised after Chelsea and Real Madrid played to a tight 1-all draw in the first leg on Tuesday. Zinedine Zidane played Marcelo for 77 minutes before introducing Marco Ascencio in his place.
One major reason of worry for the management of the team is that Marcelo’s election duty will break Real’s COVID-19 bubble and even if he can make it back on time from election duty he will be unable to fly to the match afterward.
This duty during elections became part of Marcelo’s responsibilities after the player became a Spanish citizen in 2011. However, he can formally appeal as a professional who “must participate in public events held on the day of voting” that were scheduled before he was alerted of the duty.
There are precedents of successful appeals in the domestic competition such as when Levante goalkeeper, Aitor Fernandez, was released from election duty on a second appeal in November 2019 and subsequently played in the Spanish league match he could have missed otherwise.
Whether they succeed to keep Marcelo from the elections via the appeals or not, French manager Zidane, whose post-match remarks paid particular attention to the pace of Chelsea players, which Marcelo struggled to counter, could be seeking to field a different player.
Zidane harped on the Chelsea speed to reporters after the game: “They’re very quick, have good players and started very well. In the second half, we had more control. We’re still in the tie, and we’re happy with the overall performance. We’re also good at playing away from home. We press high.”
Whoever takes the tie qualifies for the final of the season’s European competition where they will meet one of either Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, who are both in action on Wednesday, for their own semi-final first leg fixture at the Parc des Princes, in Paris.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
