match

Unprecedented decision to cancel game brings back long history of unpenalized insults, also involving Catalan clubs

Those supporters who carry pro-independence flags at the Copa del Rey final will be able to access the stadium. The judge of judiciary number 11 of Madrid accepted the appeal presented by lawyers' group 'Drets', which called for the “automatic suspension” of the Spanish government’s decision to ban the flags during the football match between FC Barcelona and Sevilla FC. Thus, according to the resolution, the cautionary measure requested by ‘Drets’ has been “partially estimated” and therefore “the execution of the appealed action is suspended”. The decision announced by the Spanish government’s Delegate in Madrid, Concepción Dancausa, triggered much criticism amongst civil society but also from most of the political parties. FC Barcelona also presented a lawsuit which is still being studied by another judge in Madrid

59 days after the celebrations for the historic treble achieved by the blaugranes last season, Camp Nou comes back to life after a summer hiatus with the visit of Italian side AS Roma for the traditional pre-season opening game at the stadium, the Joan Gamper Trophy. The clash with the Serie A club will mark the end of a pre-season which has taken Barça to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington DC and Florence. The first team will be presented to the fans before the game and a party atmosphere is guaranteed in the final test for Luis Enrique’s squad ahead of their attempt to claim the European and Spanish Super Cups. With the return of Claudio Bravo to training on Monday, Luis Enrique now has his entire first team squad back after the summer break, although Arda Turan and Douglas continue their respective recoveries from injury.

Sluggish start condemns Catalans in last match in 2015 International Champions Cup. Suárez gets one back after early Bernardeschi double but Barça can´t complete comeback.FC Barcelona had full control of the last 79 minutes in their fourth and final game of the preseason International Champions Cup on Sunday night but it wasn’t enough to overcome two early goals from Federico Bernardeschi, as hosts Fiorentina claimed a 2–1 victory. Despite the early goals FC Barcelona clearly dominated the rest of the match, and would have drawn even, or taken the lead, if they had been able to finish with a bit more precision. Fiorentina goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu was key as well, making a bevy of nice saves throughout the evening.

Goals from Suárez and Sandro give Barça a 2-2 draw over 90 minutes against Chelsea, but the shoot out does not go the Catalans’ way (4-2). FC Barcelona and Chelsea FC put on a spectacular show of football on Tuesday night at FedExField just outside Washington DC in a friendly clash between European giants that had to be decided on penalty kicks. With the score tied at two after 90 minutes of play, Chelsea aced all four of their spot kicks to emerge with a victory in both teams’ final game on United States soil in the 2015 International Champions Cup. Both sides will play one final game in the summer tournament back in Europe. For Barça, the defeat wraps up a US tour that included a first-game win over the Los Angeles Galaxy followed by consecutive losses to Manchester United and Chelsea. Despite the less-than-optimum results, Barça head coach Luis Enrique has made it clear that the purpose of the preseason is to get his team in shape for the games that count.

The Catalans are in California for the first friendly of the 2015/16 preseason in their debut appearance in the International Champions Cup. The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California is the venue for FC Barcelona’s first match of the 2015/16 preseason, which kicks off at 8.00pm on Tuesday local time and early Wednesday morning back in Barcelona at 5.00am CET. A crowd of over 90,000 is expected to watch as the Catalans face current Major League Soccer (MLS) champions Los Angeles Galaxy in the first of their four games in the International Champions Cup. Three of those games are being played in the USA. After Galaxy, Barça will take on Manchester United on Saturday and Chelsea on Tuesday.

La Festa del Gamper will climax with the presentation of the squad and the match against Mexican side Club León on Monday evening (20.30 CET). The game gives the fans a chance to see the FC Barcelona's new summer signings. Bravo, Masip, Ter Stegen, Mathieu, Vermaelen, Rafinha, Rakitic and  Luis Suárez, who will be making his first appearance in a Barça shirt after re-joining the squad for training last Friday. Five of those new players -Bravo, Masip, Mathieu, Rakitic and Luis Suárez-, could make their Camp Nou debuts as Barça players against Leon, whilst the injured Ter Stegen and Vermaelen will have to wait. Rafinha played for the first team at the stadium when he was still a Barça B player.

FC Barcelona made light work of their fourth preseason friendly. Goals from Munir (2), Sergi Roberto, Piqué, Bartra and Sandro brought a fantastic end to a busy week with games in Nice, Geneva and now Helsinki. The atmosphere in the Olympic Stadium couldn’t have been better, but after FCB scored three times in the first fifteen minutes, the game itself was a lop-sided affair.

Despite the result, Wednesday’s match was a great test for Luis Enrique’s side against Napoli in Geneva. Claudio Bravo made his Barça debut against the club that finished third in Serie A last year, and although the Italians took the win thanks to the only goal of the night, the Catalans played strong and confident football despite the absence of some of their biggest stars, such as Messi, Neymar and Xavi. Despite posing very little threat in the friendly in Geneva, Napoli edged it thanks to a Dzemaili strike after 80 minutes.

Napoli and Barça feature in one of the pre-season’s most attractive friendlies this Wednesday evening in Geneva (8PM CET). Luis Enrique’s side are in the middle of their pre- season preparations and after Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Nice, they fly to Helsinki on Saturday, just 72 hours after facing the Italians, for their third friendly in a week.Adriano, Xavi, Mathieu and Patric all miss the Geneva trip to play against Napoli as do Messi, Neymar, Mascherano and Alves.

Barça drew away to a defiant Lechia side with goals from Sergi Roberto and Messi, both times to cancel out earlier efforts from the home side. July 30, 2013 is a date Barça fans will remember for two reasons. The first is a sad one, for one of the greatest players ever to represent FC Barcelona, Antoni Ramallets, passed away. A minute’s silence was respected in his honour in Gdansk, and the players wore black armbands. However, it was also the day Neymar, FC Barcelona’s new Brazilian star, made his first appearance for the team, playing 15 minutes in the friendly in Gdansk.

The Brazilian team are currently 16th in the Campeonato Brasileño Serie A after five matches. Neymar's former team will have to face the challenge of overcoming the sale of its biggest star. Santos’ participation in the Joan Gamper Trophy was agreed upon when Barça signed the Brazilian forward. From Wednesday July 3, tickets go on sale for the FC Barcelona v Santos match for the Joan Gamper Trophy. For this game, the font used on the Barça shirt will be different to the usual one. A special typography designed by Anna Vives will be used.

Barça won the Paris Trophy beating PSG on penalties after Messi and Rafinha had scored to make it 2-2 at full time. After the friendlies in Hamburg (1-2) and Tangier (0-8), this was a tougher test for Tito Villanova’s men, as Carlos Ancelotti’s much reinforced PSG , who are looking to be a force in the European game this coming season, held them to a 2-2 draw at the Parc de Principes, before the visitors won on penalties.