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- Players from both teams entered the field wearing shirts with the words 鈥淲e are all Valencia,鈥� written in Spanish on Madrid鈥檚 kits and in Italian on AC Milan鈥檚
- Madrid鈥檚 organized fan group also displayed a 鈥淲e are all Valencia鈥� banner behind one of the goals at the Bernabeu
- More than 200 people were killed when flash floods caused by heavy downpours in eastern Spain devastated the Valencia region last week
MADRID: Real Madrid and AC Milan honored the victims of the deadly floods in Valencia before their Champions League match on Tuesday.
Players from both teams entered the field wearing shirts with the words 鈥淲e are all Valencia,鈥� written in Spanish on Madrid鈥檚 kits and in Italian on AC Milan鈥檚.
A huge banner of the Valencia region was displayed in the stands at midfield, covering several sitting sections at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium while a moment of silence was observed before kickoff.
Madrid鈥檚 organized fan group also displayed a 鈥淲e are all Valencia鈥� banner behind one of the goals at the Bernabeu.
Spain international Alvaro Morata, who scored one of the goals for Milan in the team鈥檚 3-1 win against Madrid, said soccer has become secondary after the tragedy.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 happening in Valencia is the most important thing,鈥� he said. 鈥淗opefully the situation will improve, because we can鈥檛 enjoy a soccer match with a situation like that happening in our country.鈥�
More than 200 people were killed when flash floods caused by heavy downpours in eastern Spain devastated the Valencia region last week, destroying almost everything in their path and leaving people trapped in vehicles, homes and businesses.
Real Madrid had donated 1 million euros to help the victims affected by the unprecedented floods.
Madrid hadn鈥檛 played a match since its 4-0 loss to Barcelona in the Spanish league 鈥渃lasico鈥� on Oct. 26. Their weekend game at Valencia in the league was postponed because of the floods.
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said in his news conference on Monday that he didn鈥檛 鈥渇eel like talking about soccer鈥� with everything that was happening in Valencia.
Several other sporting events across Spain were affected by the deadly floods.
Before the match, Madrid fans at the Bernabeu loudly jeered when UEFA鈥檚 Champions League anthem was played. That came after the club decided not to attend the Ballon d鈥橭r awards ceremony last week whentheir forward Vinicius Junior did not win the prestigious prize.