A railway tragedy in Spain has led to changes in the football calendar. The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has decided to postpone the 24 matches of the first round of the Copa del Rey, which were scheduled to be played on Wednesday.
The decision was taken out of respect and solidarity with the victims of the accident and their families. According to the federation, the new dates and kick-off times of the matches will be made public in the coming days.
Among the teams that were due to take the field were Valencia, Celta Vigo and Real Betis. Meanwhile, Real Madrid and Barcelona will begin their participation in this competition in December, in the round of 32, due to their commitments in the Spanish Supercup.
The incident occurred shortly after 9:00 a.m., in the area between the towns of Mora and Orgaz, in the province of Toledo. According to initial reports, two high-speed trains, operated by Renfe and Iryo, were involved in the accident, carrying a total of 544 people.
From the collision, two carriages derailed. According to preliminary data cited by local authorities, at the time of reporting it was suspected that at least 46 people had lost their lives, while there was fear that the death toll could rise.
Following the tragedy, Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid expressed their condolences to the families of the victims, the injured and all those affected by the accident.