Postponed el clasico moved to Dec 18 date

The postponed clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid at Camp Nou has been rescheduled for December 18, the Spanish football Federation (RFEF) confirmed yesterday.

The original La Liga fixture, pencilled in for October 26, was pushed violent pro-independence protests in Catalonia.

La Liga had proposed a new date of either December 4 or 7 and could appeal. Barcelona and Real Madrid had been given until Monday to arrange the new date themselves but when a decision was not made, it passed over to the RFEF.

It means Barcelona, who insisted the original match should have gone ahead this weekend, will face a testing few weeks before Christmas.

In December, they are already scheduled to play away at Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan in the Champions League and Real Sociedad, who sit fourth in La Liga. Real Madrid will play away at Club Brugge in the Champions League and then Valencia, just before travelling to Barca.

But both clubs swiftly settled on December 18, hours after being instructed to agree a new date by the RFEF. La Liga, who originally proposed the postponement, disagreed, claiming it would clash with fixtures in the Copa del Rey and harm the economic interests of the clubs involved.

La Liga initially suggested swapping the two Clasicos, with the first one being played at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid, and then proposed the weekend of December 7, when Barcelona and Madrid already have fixtures. Their last proposal was December 4, which comes just after Barca play away at Atletico Madrid.

Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said he hoped the two clubs would not be drawn into a political “war” between La Liga and the RFEF, who have clashed on various issues in recent years.

Barcelona moved top of La Liga last weekend, one point ahead of Real Madrid.