El Clasico Gets Dec. 18 New Date

Following the decision to postpone Saturday’s meeting between Barcelona and Real Madrid, it has been confirmed that the first Clasico of the season will take place on December 18.

Riots in Barcelona over the past two weeks led to La Liga requesting that the game be moved from Camp Nou to Santiago Bernabeu, with the reverse fixture then to be played in Catalunya later in the season.

But with both clubs against such a switch, the match was instead rescheduled, with a final call on that date having been made by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).

Though both clubs suggested December 18 – a Wednesday – La Liga have confirmed that they will appeal the new date will stand given their hope of showcasing the biggest match in the competition to a wider audience.

The original fixture was set to kick-off at 12pm BST (7am ET) so as to allow fans in Asia as well as in the United States and South America to watch the match live, with the proposed new evening kick-off set to impact the former.