Violence on streets overshadows El Clasico as Bale is denied winner
Masked supporters set bins on fire and threw rocks and glass bottles at police, who responded with foam bullets in a street near Barcelona’s Nou Camp stadium as last night’s rescheduled El Clasico was overshadowed by political protests.
Ahead of a match which had been postponed in October due to safety fears in Catalonia, 12 people were injured in the clashes, including four who needed to be taken to a medical centre, local emergency services said.
The protesters, many of them carrying Catalan separatist flags, had set up barricades in the middle of the street, which they then set on fire, after police arrived in dozens of police vans.
Inside the stadium thousands of fans, who witnessed the first goalless encounter between the two sides in 17 years, held up blue banners with the words “Spain, sit and talk” and “Freedom, rights, selfdetermination’” as well as the slogan of Democratic Tsunami, the Catalan protest group.
With increased security in attendance, including helicopters overhead, the match passed without any problems inside the stadium, save for yellow balls hurled on to the pitch in the second half.
The closest either team went to winning was the second-half effort from Gareth Bale, back in Real’s starting line-up, that VAR ruled out for offside.
Real dominated much of the match, though Jordi Alba volleyed the best first-half chance wide for Barca four minutes before the break following Lionel Messi’s brilliant, chipped pass.
Real captain Sergio Ramos cleared off the goal-line as Casemiro challenged Messi in the box, while Barca defender Gerard Pique had earlier done likewise from Karim Benzema’s header.
Bale thought he had broken the deadlock in the 72nd minute, but VAR ruled Ferland Mendy was fractionally offside before delivering his pinpoint low cross.
Barca remain top of La Liga on goal difference from Real.
Barcelona