VALENCIA, Spain (AP) — The Copa del Rey matches involving Valencia and Levante have been postponed following floods that killed more than 70 people and caused havoc in southern Spain.
Other sporting events were also affected by Tuesday's flash floods that swept away cars, turned village streets into rivers and disrupted rail lines and highways in the worst natural disaster to hit the European nation in recent memory.
Clubs, soccer stars and other athletes — including Vinícius Júnior, Luka Modric, Sergio Ramos, Diego Simeone and Thibaut Courtois — were quick to post messages of support on social media.
“Real Madrid is deeply saddened and expresses its solidarity with all the people affected by this catastrophe, to whom it conveys all its full support and sympathy,” the club said.
Both Madrid and Barcelona held a moment of silence before their training sessions on Wednesday.
Valencia was set to play Parla Escuela in the first round of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday, while Levante was scheduled to visit Pontevedra.
Other midweek Copa games could be canceled as well, and Saturday's league match between Valencia and Madrid could also move to a different date.
The MotoGP race in Valencia in two weeks was also in doubt after reports of heavy damage caused by the floods at the Circuito Ricardo Tormo.
Some basketball games also had to be rescheduled as travel was affected throughout Spain.
Rainstorms caused flooding in a wide swath of southern and eastern Spain, stretching from Malaga to Valencia. Mud-colored floods sent vehicles tumbling down streets at high speeds, while pieces of wood swirled in the water mixed with household items. Police and rescue services used helicopters to lift people from their homes and rubber boats to reach drivers trapped on the roofs of cars.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Tales Azzoni, The Associated Press
