El Clasico: Real Madrid agrees to Barcelona's proposal of December 18 game

Barcelona wants El Clasico to be moved to December 18, a date Real Madrid agrees is the most suitable after RFEF postponed the game due to safety concerns.

Published : Oct 18, 2019 19:28 IST

The RFEF confirmed on Friday that it had postponed the El Clasico match between Barcelona and Real Madrid at Camp Nou due to the the ongoing political tensions and protests in Catalonia.
The RFEF confirmed on Friday that it had postponed the El Clasico match between Barcelona and Real Madrid at Camp Nou due to the the ongoing political tensions and protests in Catalonia.
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The RFEF confirmed on Friday that it had postponed the El Clasico match between Barcelona and Real Madrid at Camp Nou due to the the ongoing political tensions and protests in Catalonia.

Real Madrid has agreed with Barcelona's suggestion to move the first La Liga El Clasico of the season to December 18.

The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) confirmed on Friday that it had postponed the match at Camp Nou due to safety concerns amid the ongoing political tensions and protests in Catalonia.

Violent scenes broke out in Barcelona after nine Catalan political leaders received long prison sentences for their roles in the region's 2017 referendum and subsequent unilateral declaration of independence.

READ| El Clasico postponed due to Catalonia unrest; Barca, Madrid left to decide new date

A rally in the city has been called by pro-independence politicians for October 26, the day Barca was due to host Madrid, prompting the RFEF to intervene.

The Competition Committee has told the two clubs to agree to a revised date for the game before next Monday and Barca suggested December 18 as the best option.

In a statement released later on Friday, Madrid said: "In light of the Competition Committee ruling which postpones the match scheduled to be played on Saturday October 26 between Barcelona and Real Madrid, and states the clubs must agree a new date for the fixture, Real Madrid wishes to communicate that the date proposed by both said clubs is December 18."

Speaking earlier, head coach Zinedine Zidane said he was prepared to adapt to any plans to reschedule the fixture.

"If we have to play on the 26th, we will, and if we have to change, the important thing is to be prepared," he told a news conference.

"I know there is a lot of debate because it's logical, but my position as coach is this: to be ready on the date that the appropriate person tells us. We'll adapt.

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"I have a preference but I'm not going to tell you. We know it could be the seventh, the eighteenth – we'll adapt to this."

December 18, a Wednesday, is seen by many as an appropriate date as neither Barca nor Madrid are involved in the planned Copa del Rey fixtures on that day.

La Liga reportedly put forward December 7 as its preferred date, as it would keep the match on a Saturday, but this would require Barca's meeting with Real Mallorca and Madrid's game against Espanyol to be moved.

Barca and Madrid are also playing their final Champions League group games, away to Inter and Club Brugge respectively, within four days after December 7.

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