Barca 'open to El Clasico date change but won't play in Madrid'

According to Catalan media, the Camp Nou board has told the Spanish Football Federation that moving the day of the Clásico is fine, but not the location.

According to Catalan media, FC Barcelona have officially responded to the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) regarding the possibility of moving the Clásico against Real Madrid scheduled for 26 October due to continuing protests in the region after the jailing of nine pro-independence politicians and activists earlier this week. LaLiga had suggested switching the order of the Clásicos this season so that the October fixture would be played in Madrid and the March match in Camp Nou, but Barça have reportedly refused that option.

However, Barcelona have left the door open for the date of the game to be moved in light of the mass rally being called by pro-independence parties in the region to coincide with the Clásico. Barcelona has witnessed three nights of unrest with protestors clashing with security forces across the city after the Spanish Supreme Court’s decision to jail nine leading pro-independence figures for terms of between nine and 13 years.

Barça prefer a date change instead of a venue change

FC Barcelona though have based their arguments on purely sporting terms, despite issuing a statement against the sentences handed down immediately after the ruling. The club said its main concern was that the players would have little time to recover after travelling to Prague to play Slavia in the Champions League before then heading straight to Madrid to play a Clásico scheduled for 13:00 on the Saturday.

The RFEF Competition Committee is due to make a decision on the matter before the weekend, with a date change to December currently the preferred option at Camp Nou.