La Liga postpone Celta Vigo match following fungus outbreak
Celta Vigo’s opening match of the 2026-27 La Liga season against Osasuna has been postponed following a fungal “disease” affecting the pitch at their Estadio de Balaidos.
Celta were due to host Osasuna on Sunday at 20:30 BST but the match has now been rearranged to Thursday, 27 August at 19:30 BST, much to the frustration of the visitors who have accused the league of a lack of “foresight and professionalism”.
A pitch inspection was carried out by La Liga officials on Wednesday following an outbreak of fungus growing on Celta’s pitch with the hosts having previously requested a postponement.
Following a one-day peak of 36C in Vigo at the end of July, temperatures have consistently stayed in the mid to high 20s across the last fortnight with the club citing “weather conditions” as having an adverse impact on the playing surface.
A Celta Vigo statement read: “La Liga agreed this morning, in coordination with the clubs and the RFEF, to postpone the match that was scheduled to face Celta and CA Osasuna this coming Sunday at Abanca Balaidos due to a disease that has affected the stadium’s turf, which is currently unfit for football.
“Last week, La Liga conducted a technical inspection in which the work done to eradicate the disease affecting the turf was validated, and it was certified that the field met the required quality and safety parameters for sports play.
“The weather conditions of the past few days have had an adverse effect on the good progress of the field and led to the decision to postpone the match.”
In response, Osasuna said they have “complete disagreement” with La Liga over the new date.
They also feel that the club “and its fans are clearly the most affected” by the decision, with Osasuna claiming both them and Celta had agreed to play the match in September during the opening days of the international break.
Their statement read: “Club Atletico Osasuna wishes to express its complete disagreement with the new date set for the Celta-Osasuna match scheduled for this Sunday, August 16.
“The poor condition of the pitch due to the presence of a fungus makes it impossible to play the match on the originally scheduled date, despite the efforts made by the home club, a situation that Osasuna understands and accepts.
“Both Celta and Osasuna agreed that September 24th or 25th, coinciding with the international break, was the ideal date to avoid overloading the schedules of both teams and to allow for adequate player recovery during a period particularly sensitive to injuries, such as the start of a new season.
“Both La Liga and the RFEF were aware of this agreement between the clubs.
“For a competition like Spain’s La Liga to decide on a postponement on a Thursday, three days before a match, follows the pattern of last-minute scheduling changes to which we have unfortunately become accustomed due to a lack of foresight and professionalism.
“There is no regulation, criterion, or explanation that can justify a decision, made on a date agreed upon by both clubs, that would disproportionately harm the team already disadvantaged by the initial postponement.
“Nor can such a decision be presented as an act ‘in coordination with the clubs’. And all this just over 48 hours before that team is scheduled to fly to Vigo. This isn’t football, it’s La Liga.”
The stadium has been undergoing renovation work for more than a decade, and is planned to be among the 11 Spanish stadia used to co-host the 2030 World Cup alongside Portugal and Morocco.
Once renovation works are completed, the arena is set to increase its capacity to between 40,000 and 44,000.
Celta originally had the option to postpone the match as striker Borja Iglesias was part of the Spain squad at the World Cup, but opted not to.
Three other La Liga matches that were due to be played on the opening weekend, Valencia v Real Betis, Real Madrid v Real Sociedad and Barcelona v Athletic Club, have also been rescheduled for later in the month because of clubs having players involved in the World Cup final.
