El Clásico postponed amidst post-verdict unrest in Barcelona

Fans will have to wait around two months for the first edition of El Clásico in the 2019-20 season, the clash of the titans between Barcelona and Real Madrid, after the Royal Spanish Football Federation announced that the fixture would be delayed. 

The federation have made the decision following a week of political and societal unrest in Barcelona after the release of the Catalan trial verdict on Monday, in which 9 Catalan leaders were given lengthy prison sentences of between 9 and 13 years. 

The fixture was scheduled held at Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium on October 26th, but it has been reported that mass rallies are to go ahead on this date to challenge the sentences of the leaders.

An official new date for the fixture is set to be announced on Monday, but Barcelona and Real Madrid are now not expected to lock horns until December, with December 7th and December 18th dates that have been rumoured. 

La Liga submitted an official request on Wednesday that the match be moved to Real Madrid’s stadium, the Santiago Bernabéu due to "exceptional circumstances beyond our control", and that the return fixture scheduled for March 1 be held at Camp Nou, a request that the board has denied.