El Clasico to be postponed? Tsunami Democratic protest threatens Barcelona vs Real Madrid

The group is planning to stage a protest around Camp Nou four hours before the big match is scheduled to kick off

’s home match against , scheduled for December 18, has been pushed into doubt due to a communique released by Tsunami Democratic on Tuesday.

The fixture was initially scheduled to be played on October 26 but was cancelled due to fears of political unrest, which had been generated by violent clashes around Catalunya.

It was rescheduled for this pre-Christmas date, yet there is a threat of a fresh postponement due to the political activities of the group which believes that Catalunya should become independent from .

It has organised a rally around Camp Nou, traditionally a meeting point for Catalan nationalists, due to begin at 16:00, four hours before the Clasico – one of the biggest games in world football – is due to kick-off.

Tsunami Democratic has established four rally points around the stadium, while there have already been upwards of 18,000 followers who have said that they are ready to turn out for the event.

In their statement, it argues: “At the moment, a large part of the Catalan population suffers exclusion for reasons of ideology. Catalans cannot exercise their fundamental rights without repression, nor can they exercise their rights to self-determination. Dozens of people are or have been in prison simply for exercising and promoting these rights.”

The group is partially referring to the imprisonment of nine leaders of the Catalan independence movement, who had been imprisoned on the Monday two weeks prior to the previously scheduled fixture. This act from the Spanish government saw thousands of protestors take to the streets, with clashes between right-wing groups and state police.

18D • Convocatòria Nacional 🌊



En una situació d'excepcionalitat cal actuar de manera excepcional. pic.twitter.com/FwswhWG3l5 — Tsunami Democràtic (@tsunami_dem) December 10, 2019

The protests, which left scores injured as they erupted over several nights, prompted the Spanish FA (RFEF) to postpone the game to this later date.

While the RFEF has thus far been stoical on their insistence that the fixture will be played, fresh indications of protest may force them into reconsidering.

The clash is set to be a particularly volatile one in this climate given that Real Madrid have traditionally had a close relationship with the Spanish state and in Catalunya are seen to represent the conservative side of the country’s political spectrum, thereby positioning their values in a directly opposite manner to Barca.