The season’s first El Clasico meeting looks set to be pushed back in order to avoid a demonstration in the city.
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Next weeks scheduled match between Barcelona and Real Madrid is expected to be postponed until December following political unrest in Catalunya. Barcelona’s Nou Camp was due to play host to the fixture between the two La Liga giants on October 26.
However the recent jailing of nine Catalan political leaders has sparked confrontation within the city, with a demonstration rally now planned for the same date. The El Prat airport in Barcelona was temporarily closed on Tuesday due to the rising tensions, with almost 100 people reported to have been arrested since Monday.
Nearly 200 officers are also said to have been injured as a result of escalating violence, and the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) have now laid down proposals to move the tie. Officials will now agree on a new date to hold the fixture, with the federation having final say.
A date of December 7 has now been suggested, which as it is a Saturday, would involve moving both sides’ Copa del Rey fixtures currently scheduled for that day as well. La Liga are against the idea of staging the El Clasico fixture during midweek as it would likely harm viewing figures and have a knock-on effect to television rights holders.
The RFEF said previously that the move comes in “exceptional circumstances beyond our control”, after rejecting a proposal to move next weekend’s contest to Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu, and switching the second clash between the teams scheduled for March 1 to the Nou Camp.
Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde was however adamant that the game could go ahead.
“This game can perfectly take place — it’s a good opportunity to play it with normalcy,” he said Thursday. “It’s a good opportunity to do so against all those that are pessimistic.
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Source: Mirror.co.uk
