By Emre Asikci
ISTANBUL (AA) - A Saturday Spanish La Liga match between Valencia and Real Madrid has been postponed due to deadly flash floods, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) said Thursday.
"It has been agreed to postpone matches that were to be played in professional and non-professional competitions, both in 11-a-side football and in indoor football," RFEF said in a statement.
"In the case of professional football, and after receiving yesterday's request from LaLiga and the Liga F - at the request of several clubs involved -, the matches of matchday 12 of the First Division and matchday 13 of the Second Division that were to be played in the Valencian Community during this weekend are postponed, by decision of the sole Judge of Professional Competitions," it added.
Saturday's match between Villarreal and Rayo Vallecano in the Spanish top-tier division has also been called off.
Three clashes in the second-tier Segunda Division have also been affected, including Levante's matchup against Malaga, Castellon versus Ferrol and Eldense against Huesca.
The RFEF added that matches in the women’s football categories have also been postponed, including Valencia Feminas against Deportivo, and Real Madrid versus Levante.
La Liga said Wednesday that there would be a minute of silence for the victims of the disaster in the Primera and Segunda Division matches this weekend.
Three days of mourning have been declared in Spain in memory of the victims of the storm.
Meanwhile RFEF postponed several Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup) matches Wednesday after flash floods hit Spain, including the Parla Escuela vs. Valencia match.
Search and rescue efforts continued in Spain on Thursday after an unprecedented storm killed at least 158 people and caused widespread destruction.
At least 155 people lost their lives in Valencia, the hardest-hit region, according to the region's government. But deaths have also been reported in the provinces of Cuenca, Albacete, and Malaga.