Al-Zawraa Requests Similar Treatment to Real Madrid and Barcelona and Expresses Concern About the League Schedule

The president of the Iraqi Al-Zawraa club, Haidar Shanshul, demanded that his team be treated like the Spanish clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid regarding the match schedule for the 2025-2026 Iraqi Stars League season, after the team's first match against Al-Shorta was postponed due to both teams' participation in continental tournaments, namely the AFC Champions League and the AFC Champions League 2.

Shanshul stated in media remarks: "The draw for the Iraqi Stars League should be conducted under the auspices and supervision of the Spanish League (La Liga), meaning it should be similar in fairness, neutrality, and the principle of equal opportunities among teams, especially popular teams. Unfortunately, this has not happened, particularly with Al-Zawraa, whose match schedule will be extremely difficult."

He added: "For the past 20 years, I have not seen difficult matches for Barcelona and Real Madrid at the start of the La Liga competition, and I do not understand the reason for this tough schedule that our team is suffering from this season. I hope that La Liga treats us like they treat Real Madrid and Barcelona, by keeping us away from the big matches in the first round, because the 'Nawaris' team will face Al-Shorta, Al-Talaba, Al-Kahrabaa, Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, and Al-Qasim team, all of which are away games for us."

Shanshul clarified that the club's management will not officially object to the match schedule: "Even if we object, nothing will change; the schedule has become a reality, and the team will play matches at a very high level, with short rest days between rounds of only 3 or 4 days, which does not allow enough time for recovery. If it weren't for the postponement of the Al-Shorta match in the first round, the situation would have been extremely difficult, and thank God it was postponed so we can focus on the Asian participation."

The president of Al-Zawraa confirmed that "justice is absent from the league draw, despite the use of artificial intelligence, and it would have been better for the competitions committee to take the team's situation and the intensity of matches into account. Despite the rich list of players and recent contracts, the abundance of matches remains a concern for us, and we fear player injuries or fatigue after several rounds of the championship have passed.