Barcelona and Real Madrid have agreed to reschedule their El Clasico clash for 18 December, but now need to be given the green light.
The tie was originally scheduled for 26 October but due to social unrest in Catalonia, has been pushed back to a yet unspecified date – which La Liga and the Spanish FA now need to confirm.
The Spanish FA, as supported by the clubs, have pushed for the date of 18 December but La Liga instead are arguing for 7 December, with the Real Madrid-Espanyol and Barcelona-Mallorca matches, scheduled for that weekend, be played on Wednesday 4 December.
There are fears that a high-level demonstration could take place and it would be in the best interests of everyone to switch the games for this league campaign.
The unrest is also impacting on Barcelona’s travel plans to Eibar this weekend, with the club having to travel to the Basque County on Thursday – to avoid airport disruption.
Spain's Supreme Court sentenced nine Catalan separatist leaders to between nine and 13 years in prison for sedition over their role in an independence referendum in 2017.
Full statement from Barça:
“Given the postponement of the match against Real Madrid, decreed by the Competition Committee of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), FC Barcelona states that :
– Yesterday, the club transferred to the RFEF Competition Committee its refusal to play the match at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, as the Professional Football League had proposed.
– The wish of the club would have been to play El Clasico at Camp Nou on the 26th, as planned, and this was communicated in the brief of allegations submitted to the Committee.
– The club has absolute confidence in the civic and peaceful attitude of its social mass, which is always expressed in the Camp Nou in an exemplary way.
– Received the resolution of the Competition Committee of the RFEF to definitively postpone the match alleging "exceptional circumstances", and since it establishes that the clubs agree on a new date for the celebration of the match before Monday, the Club will propose the date of 18 December .
– The club regrets the inconvenience that this postponement may cause to members, peñistas and fans and informs that it has already activated the necessary procedures to return the money of the acquired tickets, as of Monday.”
The Madrid statement:
“Faced with the resolution of the Competition Committee of the Royal Spanish Football Federation to postpone the game that was to be played on Saturday October 26 between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF, and which establishes that the clubs agree on a new date for the celebration of it, Real Madrid announces that the date proposed by both clubs is December 18.”
