LaLiga Announces Playoff Promotion Dates
The promotion playoffs for the LaLiga Santander will begin after Deportivo La Coruña and Fuenlabrada play their postponed game from the final day of the regular season.
The dates for the promotion playoffs to LaLiga Santander have been set following a ruling by the Competition Committee of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).
The two-legged semifinals will get underway on Thursday, August 13, after the final game of the 2019/20 regular season has been played.
Deportivo La Coruña will host Fuenlabrada at Riazor on Wednesday, August 5 in a makeup game after the original fixture - scheduled for July 20 - was postponed following an outbreak of COVID-19 within the Madrid side's ranks.
While the already-relegated hosts have nothing to play for, a draw would lift Fuenlabrada into sixth place and secure them the final playoff spot - currently occupied by Elche.
Real Zaragoza, Almeria and Girona have already secured their playoff places.
The RFEF's decision has come under heavy criticism from a number of clubs who believe Fuenlabrada have been given an unfair advantage.
In protest to the news, Deportivo refused to undergo mandatory coronavirus testing on Monday, reports Marca.
LaLiga announced the new playoff dates in a statement:
"As agreed amongst the RFEF's Competition Committee, the postponed match on July 20th between RC Deportivo and CF Fuenlabrada from Matchday 42 of LaLiga SmartBank will be played this Wednesday 5th August at 8:00pm CET.
"Meanwhile, dates for the promotion play-offs to LaLiga Santander have been agreed by all parties.
Semi-finals:
First leg: Thursday 13th August
Second leg: Sunday 16th August
Final:
First leg: Thursday 20th August
Second leg: Sunday 23rd August
"When choosing dates, circumstances surrounding Real Zaragoza were taken into an account due to a positive case of COVID-19 restricting training schedules."