El Clasico Fixture Postponed
La Liga matchday 10 suffered the need to postpone the first El Clásico match of the 2019-2020 season. The fixture of Barcelona and Real Madrid was scheduled to take place at Camp Nou on October 26, 2019. However, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) decided to call off the match, emphasizing the grounds of security worries for those attending the match as well as for the police who would be deployed to ensure safety. Political tension in Catalonia between those favoring independence from Spain and those wanting to remain part of Spain has often spilled over into the world of soccer.
The El Clasico match had to be postponed due to security concerns, which were granted a greater priority after the sentences given to the nine leaders of the Catalan independence movement. They had been tried and found guilty of crimes that went against the Spanish Constitution and were sentenced to between 9 and 13 years in prison. And in the days following those protests, which had already been anticipated, downtown Barcelona began to fill with protestors.
El Clasico 2019 Next Match
Both clubs were consulted about the change in dates, and the two teams opted for December 18. La Liga put out a statement indicating their plans to appeal the decision. League officials explained that the date would coincide with the already scheduled Copa del Rey matches. If La Liga's appeals with both the common courts and the CSD fail, the league stands to lose money on the match. By the time the December date rolls around, it is hoped that calm will have returned to the streets of Catalonia.
Barcelona vs Real Madrid Fixture
The La Liga table for the 2019-20 season looks somewhat off-kilter, with both Spanish giants having missed a match. Barcelona lies second, behind Granada (on goal difference), with both sides having taken 19 points from 8 matches. Real Madrid trails its archrival by just a point, in the same position but having played one match fewer. The two kings of Spanish football will meet in a series of matches next month that will all but assuredly leave one of them atop the La Liga table come the end of January. You know the drill; we'll turn to the Spanish football federation in case of any rulings affecting the dates or venues of next month's El Clasico.