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What’s the story?
The first El Clasico of the season, scheduled for the 26th of October at Camp Nou has been postponed due to political unrest in Catalonia. The Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) announced the news on Friday that the new date for the fixture will be confirmed by 21st October after both teams mutually agree on a date.
In case you didn’t know…
The recent jailing of nine political leaders has sparked protests within the city, with a demonstration rally now planned for the same date forcing the biggest game known to the football fraternity to be rescheduled.
The heart of the matter...
A similar situation unfolded during 2017 Catalonian referendum which saw Barcelona play their home against Las Palmas behind closed doors. Meanwhile, things are different this time as El Clasico is the biggest game of the year.
The RFEF provided options which included playing the game behind closed doors or hosting the first time fixture at Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu but both teams were not on board with these suggestions. Therefore, the authorities have asked the clubs to reach a decision mutually.
The dates in contention are December 7th and 18th but the latter being a weekday, the authorities are against it as it would hamper viewership and ticket sales as well. Moreover, it could coincide with Copa del Rey.
A statement said released by RFEF read:
"FC Barcelona and Real Madrid must agree on the new match date.
"Gathered on an extraordinary day yesterday the RFEF Competition Committee, has resolved in relation to the National League Championship game between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid set for next October 26, after analysing the allegations of the parties, the next:
"- The regulation prevents the alteration of the order of dispute of the parties established in the calendar.
"- The Committee lets the affected clubs reach an agreement to find the classic dispute date. FC Barcelona and Real Madrid will set the date and time in the next hours, with Monday October 21 at 10:00 a.m. as a limit.
"- In case of not reaching an agreement, the Competition Committee will be the body responsible for determining the date of the meeting."
What's next?
It remains to be seen what date is finalised after discussions between the La Liga giants but this could create problems for both sides. The two juggernauts have a packed schedule in December that could be difficult to accomodate.
Also check out:La liga table 2019-20 La Liga fixtures UCL schedule
