Villarreal’s home game against Espanyol on Friday evening will be the first match to pause. Every match of matchday 11 in the top flight and matchday 12 in the second division will then do the same, through to the Monday night closer between Deportivo and Osasuna.

LaLiga and the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) agreed the tribute jointly, confirming the decision in a statement on Wednesday. The league also extended its condolences to the families and relatives of the victims. The RFEF had already suspended Thursday’s Copa del Rey round out of respect, and the weekend’s remaining cup ties will observe the silence too.

The AVE hit the Iryo at around 200 km/h

A Renfe AVE service running from Madrid to Seville struck the back of a stationary Iryo train on the same track at 8:53am local time, between Urda and Los Yébenes in Toledo province. The two trains were carrying 544 passengers between them, 397 on the AVE and 147 on the Iryo. At least 68 people were killed and another 58 were taken to hospitals in Castilla-La Mancha, making it Spain’s deadliest rail disaster since the Santiago de Compostela derailment in 2013.

Transport Minister Óscar Puente said a security system had failed on a 63-kilometre stretch of the line at 8:30am, and that the central control centre then issued what he called an “inexplicable” order telling the AVE to resume at full speed while a stop signal was still active. The impact came at around 200 km/h.

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Three days of mourning from Thursday

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez declared three days of national mourning starting on Thursday.

“It is unacceptable for a country like Spain to suffer two high-speed rail accidents in the same year,” he said as he announced the measure.

Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid all put out statements on Wednesday evening offering their sympathy to the bereaved families and wishing those still in hospital a full recovery. Real Madrid described itself as being in “profound consternation” at the news.

Villarreal and Espanyol open the round on Friday

Matchday 11 opens on Friday with Villarreal against Espanyol at 9pm local time, followed by four fixtures on Saturday and four on Sunday, before Deportivo and Osasuna close the round on Monday night. Every one of those kick-offs will be preceded by a minute of silence.

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