Official Statement

After learning of the official confirmation of the return to competitive action in professional leagues from government authorities, and deeply regretting the fact that it will be behind closed doors at the current time, Real Oviedo has come up with a plan proposing a series of possibilities for compensation or refunds for the matches that our

season-ticket holders will not be able to attend this season.

Since the beginning of this exceptional situation, every member of every part of the club has shown their complete willingness to collaborate in the difficult, uncertain circumstances which our society, the footballing world, and our club, is going through.  The backing of our majority shareholder, Grupo Carso, has been overwhelming right since the first moment, establishing the health of every member of the club and their families as the absolute priority.  They also transmitted a constant message of calm with respect to the possible economic difficulties arising from the situation and executed a capital increase campaign with the aim of surviving any situation provoked by this health, social and economic crisis.

The club has studied all of the possibilities and is, in all of its departments, working entirely on the measures and answers to all of the hypothetical scenarios which could come up in the short and medium term. The difficulties which our club is facing, just like other clubs in the sector, do not have simple solutions.  The regulations we are forced to comply with in all areas, starting with economic control laws, will largely limit the options available for getting out of this crisis to the generation of resources by the club itself.

Before explaining the possibilities that our season-ticket holders will have available to them from this moment onwards, we want to issue a reminder following the decision of the governing bodies to return to competition with the aim of finishing the current season.  Real Oviedo put all of its efforts into trying to turn our shared feeling into something concrete; without our fans, neither our team nor our club have any value nor sense.  Our President, Jorge Menéndez Vallina, made our position clear right from the start of this global crisis on his public profiles.  "*We were the first in cancelling ceremonies and youth-team training sessions, and we were one of the first to request match postponements, out of respect to our fans (even before the announcement of the State of Alert), when they wanted us to play behind closed doors.  We still feel the same.  I respect our fans and the away fans that visit us.  We have never said that we want the season cancelled, and we don't want that to happen, because Real Oviedo has always won its promotions and any other type of achievement on the pitch.  We don't want anybody to go down without having the chance to defend themselves on the pitch, nor do we want anybody to go up under the same circumstances.  We will fight, in this disappointing season (we recognise our own errors) until the last drop of sweat and blood to stay up.  But we want to do it with our fans behind us in the stands (amongst whom there are also health workers, supermarket employees, policeman, military...)  Real Oviedo fans deserve some respect."*

The club has maintained the same position since the start of the COVID19 crisis and, just as it has since the beginning, will continue to comply with the orders of the health authorities and other organising bodies who govern in the world of sport.  Football without our fans does not make sense, and as such, until the day that our fans are allowed to return to the Carlos Tartiere, our best efforts have been and will continue to be focused on making them feel that their team is with them, day by day.

Given the different scenarios that we may find ourselves in, we see it as necessary to transmit the encouragement and support of our unbreakable fanbase to our players. Our fans have demonstrated their exceptional loyalty, particularly during the toughest moments in our club's history. To all Oviedistas, we are GRATEFUL for the affection and closeness that you have shown us day after day since the start of this crisis, placing you empathy towards all of us that form part of Real Oviedo above anything else. We will not relent in the task of working, whatever the circumstances, because the feeling that we share is the most important thing to care for and to preserve, and will win through against the difficulty of any situation that we may come up against.

Due to all of these reasons, the possibilities that our season-ticket holders will have available to them in relation to the economic sum corresponding to the matches not played (28.5% of the total) from now onwards and in the coming weeks are as follows:

Starting now, and lasting until 30th November, all 2019/20 season-ticket holders who wish to exchange their corresponding refund for a voucher to be spent on official products will receive a further 25% discount as a gift. As an example, if the amount due to you for the refund of your season ticket is €100, you will receive a €125 voucher to use in the club shop.

*Promotion valid for all official products, with the only exception being the 2020/21 official home shirt.

**Promotion valid from 1st July to 30th November.

Our Club Foundation is now officially a reality, and is another source of satisfaction for the club.  While its official presentation will take place in the coming weeks, our season-ticket holders can also opt to donate the refund they are entitled to to the Foundation, with the tax benefits associated to said action, as stipulated in Law 49/2002.

*We are working on the mechanism for this donation to be made, and its details will be announced soon.

**The possibility of making the donation will be available from approximately 1st August.

***Season-ticket holders who decide to make their donation to the Foundation or who do not take up the option of a refund for the club's benefit, will enjoy guaranteed preference to attend the stadium in the event of the authorities allowing reduced-capacity matches, whenever that may occur in the future.

The next possibility available to those season-ticket holders who have the intention to renew their season ticket for the 2020/21 season is the chance to use the refund they are due as a direct discount on next season's season ticket.

*The total amount due as a refund for the matches held behind closed doors will be discounted from the price of the season ticket for each of our season-ticket holders.

**The possibility of taking up this option will be available once the season-ticket campaign for the new season is underway.

***The design of the season-ticket campaign for next season will be carried out in accordance with the forecasts for attendance indicated by the health and governmental authorities.

Real Oviedo will refund the full amount corresponding to the matches due to be played behind closed doors to those season-ticket holders who request it.  The club wishes to express its deep gratitude to all those fans who have so far informed us of their desire to not claim the amount of money they are entitled to.  There have been many such cases, and many of them came during the most severe stages of the crisis that we are going through.  The great effort made by the club to adjust its spending and completely respect the wages of its workers has been seen, and we know that it will also be backed by the support of our fans.

The commitment of Grupo Carso leads us to express our deep gratitude, from all sections of the club, for their unconditional support in a time of crisis, such as the current one.  Their backing has allowed the club to avoid the possibility of implementing any type of ERTE (temporary redundancy) or agreement for wage cuts.  We are also grateful for their excellent qualities on a human level, which they have demonstrated to us once more, as well as their crucial support on an economic and institutional level.

We also refuse to tire in stating our gratitude to all those people who are employed as key workers, who have allowed us to keep helping to care for the health of our region and country.  But, above all else, we would like to place ourselves alongside all those who have seen themselves directly or indirectly affected by the virus.  We send our complete support, love and backing to all those who are fighting against the virus, all those who have now overcome it, and all those who have lost a loved one due to COVID 19. We are with you.

We continue to work, because sooner or later, and all together, VOLVEREMOS (WE'LL BE BACK).