Real Madrid v Barcelona: Opening Clasico re-arranged for December 23
Tuesday 12 September 2017 13:06, UK
The first league Clasico of the season between Real Madrid and Barcelona has been re-arranged for December 23, live on Sky Sports.
La Liga president Javier Tebas said the match in the 17th round of fixtures, which was originally scheduled for December 20, will now take place two days before Christmas at 1pm Spanish time (midday in the UK) at the Bernabeu.
The move comes as reigning European champions Real Madrid will be involved in the FIFA Club World Cup, which runs from December 6-16 in the United Arab Emirates, the week before and Tebas said there will be three games on the 23rd as part of Christmas holiday entertainment.
"It [Clasico] will be played on Saturday, December 23 at 1pm," Tebas told Onda Cero.
"We have recently notified the national and international TV operators of this so that they know because that week what we are going to do in La Liga is have games on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
"On Saturday, we will have three games. We want to make it a very special week of football because of the Christmas holiday. We are working hard to make it special."
Tebas admitted that 1pm was being used as a kick-off time for certain La Liga games this season, including the first Clasico, to give fans of Spanish football around the world a better chance to see matches.
"There are many Spanish soccer fans in the world. And in Singapore and Australia that is a good time for them to watch football," Tebas said.
"I'm interested in all the fans, those that go to the stadium and those that don't. Those that don't go to the stadium and around the world also pay while watching it on TV. There has to be a balance between them and that's what we work for. The numbers are there, we are growing.
"We have 30 per cent more TV audience internationally and we have seen an increase in stadium attendance by almost two million people in the past three years. We have to respect all the fans."
Barcelona are four points ahead of Real after three wins from their opening three games, while Zinedine Zidane's side have started the campaign slowly after recording back-to-back draws at home.
