Azerbaijani volleyball club Xilasedici will play the second leg of their CEV Champions League second qualifying round tie against Portugal's Sporting behind closed doors.
As reported by İdman.Biz, citing Sporting's official website, the decision was made due to deteriorating weather conditions in Portugal as Storm Charles approaches the country.
Portuguese authorities have declared a heightened state of alert, prompting Sporting to close the stands at the João Rocha Pavilion for home matches scheduled on November 10 and 11 to ensure the safety of spectators.
The restrictions will affect not only the volleyball encounter against the Azerbaijani side but also Sporting's Portuguese roller hockey championship match against Candelária.
However, the matches have not been cancelled, and their schedules remain unchanged. The second leg between Sporting and Xilasedici will take place today, November 11, in Lisbon, with the match scheduled to begin at 23:30 Baku time.
The first leg was played in Baku on November 3 and ended in a 3-2 victory for the Portuguese club (25-23, 19-25, 23-25, 25-23, 15-10).
Despite losing the opening encounter, Xilasedici still have a chance to advance to the next qualifying round.
Under the new regulations introduced by the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) for the 2026/27 season, a golden set is required whenever the two teams finish a two-legged tie with one victory each, regardless of the set scores.
Therefore, any victory for Xilasedici against Sporting will send the tie into a decisive golden set played to 15 points. If Sporting win the second leg, they will advance directly to the next round.
It is worth noting that the 2026/27 season marks Xilasedici's debut in the men's CEV Champions League.
