'El Clasico' unexpectedly banned by La Liga

Barcelona and Real Madrid are forbidden from calling the next big match “El Clasico,” set to take place at 10:15 PM on October 26.

Hansi Flick’s squad will travel to Santiago Bernabeu this Sunday aiming to reclaim the top spot in La Liga.

Previously, Barcelona achieved a resounding 6-1 victory against Olympiacos in the Champions League midweek, providing a significant boost in morale. However, ahead lies Real Madrid, one of Europe’s most in-form teams currently, having just defeated Juventus 1-0 in the European competition.

With Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid boasts one of the most lethal forwards in Spain. The French striker has scored 10 goals in just 8 La Liga matches this season. All signs point to this first major clash between the two Spanish giants being a spectacular football feast, despite both clubs being banned from using the name “El Clasico.”

Earlier this year, La Liga won a lawsuit concerning the commercial rights to the term “El Clasico.” The core issue was whether Real Madrid and Barcelona could exclusively use this historic name. The court ruled that La Liga’s trademark registration of “EL CLASICO” in May 2023 granted the league exclusive commercial control over the term.

Therefore, the two clubs cannot use “El Clasico” for promotion or commercial negotiations related to their match. This is just one of many disputes between Barcelona, Real Madrid, and La Liga in recent years.

Most recently, tensions escalated when La Liga planned to hold the match between Barcelona and Villarreal in December at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, USA. La Liga players protested by standing still for the first 15 seconds of the last weekend’s round, expressing dissatisfaction with the “lack of transparency, dialogue, and consistency” from the organizers — according to the Spanish Players’ Association (AFE).

On October 21, La Liga announced the cancellation of the match in the US, which will instead be played at Villarreal’s Estadio de la Ceramica. The official statement from La Liga said: “After discussions with the official event organizers in Miami, they decided to cancel the event due to recent unrest in Spain. La Liga regrets that this project, which was a historic opportunity to globalize Spanish football, could not proceed.”

Barcelona later issued a statement expressing “respect” for the decision to cancel the North American match: “FC Barcelona regrets the missed opportunity to promote the league’s image in a strategic, high-potential market and to generate benefits for the entire system. The club thanks the unconditional support and affection from fans in the US and is sorry they will not witness an official match on their home soil.”

Although no La Liga matches have yet been held outside Spain, it remains to be seen whether the organizers will pursue this plan in the future.

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