Real Madrid president Florentino Perez will not travel to Camp Nou to watch the Clasico in La Liga on Sunday, a Barcelona club source told AFP.
The Catalans will not hold a traditional pre-game lunch between directors of both clubs either, the same source confirmed.
Tensions between the clubs have risen in the past week because of the corruption charge levelled at Barcelona by Spanish prosecutors for paying a former refereeing chief 7.3 million euros ($7.9 million) between 2001 and 2018.
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Real Madrid confirmed last weekend they would appear in the case as an “injured party" to defend their interests, once proceedings move forward.
Barcelona host Real Madrid looking to increase their nine point advantage on their rivals at the top of La Liga, which they are aiming to win for the first time since 2019.
Spanish newspaper AS report that it is the first Clasico at Camp Nou Perez has not attended “in 20 years".
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The Catalan giants have 65 points from 25 games in the ongoing season of the Spanish top-flight competition and have a comfortable of 9 points over defending champions and closest competitors Real Madrid, who have 56 points from 25 games to their name.
Barcelona have won 21 games, while managing to come away with a draw twice. They have suffered two defeats since the start of the season in La Liga.
Real Madrid, on the other hand, have managed to register 17 wins, 5 draws and 3 defeats.
Third-placed Atletico Madrid have 51 points from 26 games at the time of writing with their 3-0 win over Valencia on Saturday as Antoine Griezmann, Yannick Carrasco and Thomas Lemar found the back of the net to hand Diego Simeone a victory over Ruben Baraja’s Valencia.
Relations between the two rival clubs seemed to be improving of late, as they looked to launch a European Super League project together in 2021 and remain set on the idea.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - AFP)
