La Liga has asked for El Clasico on 26 October to
be switched from Barcelona’s Nou Camp stadium
to Real Madrid’s Bernabeu over fears of civil unrest.
There have been days of protest in Barcelona after
nine Catalan separatist leaders were jailed on
Monday.
La Liga made the request to the Spanish Football
Federation (RFEF), and both clubs will be asked for
their opinion.
But BBC Sport understands Barcelona will refuse the
request as the club feel the switch is unnecessary.
More protests are expected in the city on the day of
the match and La Liga said the request comes due
to “exceptional circumstances beyond our control”.
The RFEF competitions committee is expected to
make its decision by Thursday 24 October.
However note:, that Barcelona and Real Madrid were not involved in La
Liga’s initial request and there has been no official
response from either club.
It means the fixture scheduled for March will now
take place in Barcelona.
The Catalan Football Federation suspended all
matches in the region on Monday, although that
ruling does not affect La Liga matches or the
Spanish national team.
Catalonia is a semi-autonomous region in north-
east Spain and in a referendum on 1 October 2017,
declared illegal by Spain’s Constitutional Court,
about 90% of Catalan votes cast backed
independence. Turnout was 43%.
The nine separatists were convicted of sedition over
their role in the referendum and handed jail
sentences of between nine and 13 years by Spain’s
Supreme Court.
Following the sentencing, Barcelona said: “Prison is
not the solution.”
The Spanish champions added: “Now more than
ever, the club asks all political leaders to lead a
process of dialogue and negotiation to resolve this
conflict, which should also allow for the release of
convicted civic and political leaders.
“FC Barcelona also expresses all its support and
solidarity to the families of those who are deprived
of their freedom.”
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