The quality of the Spanish game pales in comparison to the Premier League
At the weekend, former Arsenal midfielder and current Real Oviedo captain was furious after his side’s La Liga game at Rayo Vallecano was postponed less than four hours before kickoff.
Rayo had installed a new playing surface at their stadium earlier in the week, but heavy rain in Vallecas, Madrid had apparently “prevented the pitch from reaching the necessary optimal condition”, and so the game was suspended due to concerns over player safety.
The match was set to be played at 2pm, but La Liga announced the postponement at 10.14am.
“The decision is made after it was determined that, at present, the playing field does not meet the necessary guarantees for holding the match under safe conditions,” the league said in a statement.
NOTA INFORMATIVA🚨Acerca del aplazamiento del encuentro Rayo Vallecano-Real Oviedo del 7 de febrero. @RayoVallecano
l@RealOviedo https://t.co/eCnTlw4vzU pic.twitter.com/duJ2i3Gv9G— LALIGA Corporativo (@LaLigaCorp) February 7, 2026
The news did not go down well with Oviedo or Cazorla.
“The reality is that La Liga is light years away from the Premier League in every sense,” the 41-year-old said on X.
Cazorla spent six years from 2012 to 2018 playing for Arsenal in the Premier League, before heading back to Spain. He returned to his boyhood club Oviedo in 2023, initially aiming to play for free but then ultimately settling for the minimum salary of €91,000 a year, because of Spain’s laws against free labour.
He helped Oviedo return to the Spanish top flight at the end of last season after a 24-year absence.
There might be just a few more players who share the 41-year-old’s opinion about how the quality of the Spanish game pales in comparison to the Premier League.
Indeed, stadiums themselves have been a problem area. For example, league leaders Barcelona are currently playing in a stadium still undergoing construction. But even beyond that, some pitches have just not been up to standard. There had been concerns about the state of the playing surface at Vallecas for months.
Rayo players themselves had published a statement lamenting the poor state of the club’s pitches.
📄 COMUNICADO | PRIMERA PLANTILLA Y CUERPO TÉCNICO DEL RAYO VALLECANOhttps://t.co/K4EsWRUhIf
— AFE (@afefutbol) February 6, 2026
Oviedo have since submitted a formal request to the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) to be awarded the three points following the game’s sudden cancellation.
The club are also reviewing the incident with their lawyers to understand their legal standing. They feel that La Liga may have acted beyond their bounds in postponing the game so close to kickoff and are willing to take further legal action.
“Real Oviedo expresses its deep displeasure at this serious setback and substantial disruption to player availability which directly affects our team, considering our league position and the importance of the points at stake,” the club said in a statement.
“The club will analyse and pursue all appropriate actions with the relevant authorities to safeguard the game’s result.”
