FC Barcelona on Monday announced that AS Roma have decided to unilaterally, without reason, withdraw from the agreed contract for both parties for the Joan Gamper Trophy game.
The pre-season clash was to be played on August 6 at Camp Nou, in a fixture that would have witnessed a men’s and women’s game once again.
The La Liga club is working on finding a new opponent for this year’s edition.
“In the next 24 hours the return of money already spent on tickets will begin and the Club wants to make it clear that the suspension of the games has been due to circumstances outside the control of FC Barcelona, the express wish of AS Roma,” FC Barcelona in a statement said.
The Club’s Legal department is studying possible action against the Italian club for damages caused to FC Barcelona and its fans due to this unexpected and unjustified decision.
Joan Gamper Trophy returns to the Camp Nou after being played at the Estadi Johan Cruyff last season. The women’s game will start at 5.30 pm local time, while the men’s game kicks off at 9.00 pm. The official presentation of the two squads will take place in between at 7.50 pm.
AS Roma were also the guests at the Joan Gamper in 2015, with Barca winning 3-0 thanks to goals from Neymar, Lionel Messi and Ivan Rakitic.
In pre-season, FC Barcelona will also meet Real Madrid again this summer for a game in Las Vegas on July 23, one of the four that the Catalans will play on their US tour.
In addition to friendlies already announced against Inter Miami FC on July 19 and the New York Red Bulls on July 30, Xavi Hernandez will also be preparing for the forthcoming season with games against Real Madrid on July 23 in Las Vegas and Juventus on July 26 in Dallas.
Football fans in the US are going to be treated to another Clasico on July 23 at Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, which holds 65,000 spectators and is the home of the Las Vegas Raiders in the NFL.
