Real Madrid training delayed as La Liga carries out doping tests; club, UEFA disgruntled | OneFootball

Real Madrid will kick off their UEFA Champions League campaign on Tuesday with a home game against Olympique de Marseille.

After having not fared all too well under Carlo Ancelotti last season, the Merengues will be hoping to go the distance with Xabi Alonso at the helm this time around.

However, preparations for Marseille’s visit to the Santiago Bernabeu were not off to the ideal start for Real Madrid.

Training start delayed by an hour

Real Madrid’s training session at Valdebebas on Monday, scheduled to begin at 11:00 ahead of the clash with Marseille, was delayed. The players did not take to the pitch until 12:00.

The reason was that six Real Madrid players were subjected to doping controls before the session, reports Mundo Deportivo.

Real Madrid’s training session started an hour late. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)

These checks were conducted by La Liga and not by UEFA, despite the fact that the fixture in question is part of the Champions League.

This situation caused some frustration within Real Madrid, not because of the tests themselves, but because they were administered by La Liga rather than UEFA, and that too on the eve of the club’s Champions League debut.

According to the report, UEFA also expressed discontent at the intervention. Real Madrid confirmed that La Liga’s visit would be included in the official report prepared on the match.

Real Madrid had Jude Bellingham, Endrick, and Eduardo Camavinga back working with the group once again today while Antonio Rudiger and Ferland Mendy were absent from the training session as they recover from their injuries.