Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu confirmed on Thursday that El Clasico will not be delayed any further and will be played on the rescheduled day of December 18.
Barcelona and Real Madrid were scheduled to play the first Clasico of the season on October 26. But due to the political unrest created by the Catalan separatist movement in Barcelona, the match was postponed.
“I can say that the Clasico will be played, it will not be postponed again. It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure it goes ahead. We know that we live in a complicated period in Catalonia but that can be compatible with sport,” AFP quoted Bartomeu as saying at the Christmas press event in Barcelona.
The La Liga match is set to be played at the home venue of Barcelona, Camp Nou. Talking about the stadium, Bartomeu said that it is a place for free expression from where they would like to send a message of normality.
“Our stadium is a place for free expression, it always has been, and that is why we want to send out a message of normality and calm. The club is preparing for the Clasico with complete normality and we tell our fans to come with their family and friends,” the Barca president said.
“Together we have to deliver a Clasico that is a celebration of sport and of people. We want peace and calm,” he added.
A group of protestors have planned to demonstrate at the Camp Nou on the match day. “In an exceptional situation, we should act in an exceptional way,” said a statement from a group named Democratic Tsunami on Tuesday.
The recent protests are latest in a series of many such demonstrations which started two months after Spain’s top court jailed nine leaders of the separatist movement over their role in the failed pro-independence movement of 2017.