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Claim: TikTok user claims European clubs- Real Madrid and Arsenal, Barcelona and Liverpool, Man U, and Chelsea would clash on Feb. 14, 2025.
Verdict: False. None of the European international leagues’ fixtures show that the clubs the claimant mentioned would have playoffs on Feb. 14, 2025.
Full Text
February 14 is known worldwide as Lovers’ Day. Although its original conception remains unclear, some narratives have linked it with the Roman festival of Lupercalia, which symbolised the welcome of spring and featured the traditional rite of pairing women with men by lottery.
Meanwhile, another school of thought believes the widely celebrated day was named after a martyred priest around 270 CE. Some believe the day is named after Saint Valentine of Terni. In contrast, others think it was named after a certain Saint Valentine, who secretly joined couples in matrimony to shield their husbands from being conscripted for war.
Against this backdrop, a TikTok user, dk_media, claims men would be too preoccupied to pay attention to this year’s Valentine’s celebrations because there would be many spectacular football matches on that day. These matches include clashes between Real Madrid and Arsenal, Barcelona and Liverpool, and Manchester United and Chelsea. As such, ladies should not hope much about spending time with their male partners.
“14th Feb, all men will be busy. 14th Feb– Valentine’s Day. 14th Feb– Real Madrid vs Arsenal. 14th Feb–Barcelona vs Liverpool. 14th Feb– Chelsea vs Man U. Ladies, just forget about this day,” the TikTok user wrote.
Unsurprisingly, the claim caused much buzz amongst other TikTok users due to the big European clubs the claimant mentioned. As of Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, the claim had generated over 100,000 likes, 1,148 comments, and 4,213 bookmarks and was shared over 22,000 times.
TikTok users who had seen the video expressed diverse reactions to its authenticity.
“Arsenal vs Real Madrid. On a Friday?? What competition is it?” Ndyebo Sergio Maps queried.
“Barcelona are not playing Liverpool. Clearly, people don’t know how a Champions League works,” Jinny pointed out.
“Good thing I’m a die-hard football fan and a supporter of Manchester United and Real Madrid,” Daisy expressed.
“14th Feb—I’m turning a year older. 14th Feb—my club Chelsea is playing,” a real Chelsea fan wrote.
Due to the different opinions in the comment section, DUBAWA decided to verify the claim.
Verification
DUBAWA checked the three European leagues where clubs across Europe could play against each other, irrespective of the domestic leagues they belong to— the Champions League, Europa League, and Europa Conference League.
The Champions League fixture showed no match was fixed for Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. The only Champions League matches for the week have been scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, and Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025.
The Europa League fixture has matches scheduled only for Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025.
None of the clubs mentioned by the claimant, except Chelsea, plays in the Europa Conference League, and none would play on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2025, and Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, the days scheduled for the league this week.
Only one club amongst the ones the claimant mentions would play on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, and that is Chelsea, which has a game with Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League. Contrary to the claimant’s assertion, the other clubs have no game on Friday.
Conclusion
The claim is false. None of the alleged fixtures mentioned by the claimant has an officially scheduled match on Feb. 14, 2025.
