Why aren't Barcelona playing Real Madrid this weekend in El Clasico & when will cancelled match be played?

El Clasico is one of the most anticipated showdowns in the football calendar, the arch-rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona making up for some classic, iconic showings.

The first meeting of the season between the two Spanish giants was due to be played on the last Saturday of October, but that has since been delayed due to political unrest in the Catalan city following the aftermath of the referendum of Catalan independence in October 2017.

Here's everything you need to know about why the game was postponed, when it will be rescheduled for and more.

Why was El Clasico postponed?

The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) made the decision to postpone El Clasico, originally due to be played on Saturday October 26, due to tensions surrounding the ongoing Catalan protests.

RFEF made their announcement in the wake of dramatic scenes in city after nine Catalan separatist leaders were jailed for between nine and 13 years – their jail time accumulating to a century of imprisonment.

The sentences were given in the aftermath of a referendum on Catalan independence that occurred in October 2017, which Spanish authorities had deemed unofficial.

The jail sentences given to the separatists was met with uproar across the country, with clashes taking place in Barcelona – with the city's El Prat airport forced to be closed down at certain times, while violence on the streets has also occurred.

Similar scenes happened in October 2017 immediately following the referendum vote, with Barcelona having to play their La Liga match against Las Palmas behind closed doors.

Due to the high-profile nature of El Clasico, along with Real Madrid's reputation of having strong historical links to the Spanish government, and with large portions of their fanbase still on the side of Spanish nationalism, it was decided that the match would be too much of a security risk.

When will El Clasico take place?

RFEF have confirmed that the Clasico will instead take place on Wednesday December 18.

"The decision of the competition committee has come after analysing in recent days the proposals of both clubs, which they invited to agree on a date and who agreed to signal on December 18 for the rescheduling of the postponed match," an RFEF statement read.

La Liga president Javier Tebas had suggested reversing this season’s Clasicos, with the first game to be head at the Bernabeu instead of Camp Nou, with the return fixture next March in Barcelona.

Barcelona had rejected this suggestion, however, with RFEF stating that the sequence of fixtures could not be changed.

La Liga’s preferred date had been Saturday 7 December as they wanted to target the Asian market, as the original Clasico would have been played at 1pm local time, allowing fans in the eastern hemisphere to watch the game.

Additionally, Madrid's visit on Saturday would have been the first match played at Camp Nou since the court verdict, which had also invited millions of peaceful protesters onto the streets of Barcelona. Another demonstration was planned for the day of the game.

Neither club had wanted to postpone the game at all, with Barca boss Ernesto Valverde stating: “We want to play the Clasico with our fans on the 26th. I see this as an opportunity for many people from here, for our fans, to show that it can be played perfectly in a natural way.”

His opposite number Zinedine Zidane added that “nobody liked violence”, though would play whenever his side were asked – “if that is on the 26th, then it is the 26th.”