LaLiga president explains why they didn't cancel all matches after Valencia tragedy

This week, all sport competitions in Spain were marked by the tragedy still unfolding in Valencia: a cold front that has left over 200 casualties and dozens of missing people.

Football matches that were to take place in Valencia, from First and Second Division (LaLiga eSports and LaLiga Hypermotion) as well as the local Copa del Rey that started this week, were cancelled. That included Valencia-Real Madrid, two teams that momentarily left aside their differences in order to focus on what is really important.

However, the rest of games in the country were played out normally, observing a minute of silence for the victims. But many players and managers didn't agree, including Diego Pablo Simeone from Atlético de Madrid or Hansi Flick from FC Barcelona, who said that all the games should have been cancelled.

Javier Tebas, president of LaLiga, thinks otherwise. "We believe that in the terrible situation that Spain is experiencing, the best message is not to stop, except in the affected areas", he said on Twitter.

"The best message is to be on the front line in our jobs like all workers in other sectors, giving visibility, generating resources and explaining to the world that we all have to work hard to go on".

In the comments, however, most people seem to disagree, and think that football and sports are secondary in front of a natural disaster unprecedented in Spain and Europe, of a magnitude still unknown, possibly much worse than the official numbers known so far.