Real Madrid will not be welcomed onto the pitch with a guard of honour ahead of Saturday’s Clasico, Barcelona director of institutional relations Guillermo Amor confirmed.
It’s custom for opposing teams in Spain and other European nations to honour newly crowned champions, such as Real Madrid, following the club’s triumph at the FIFA Club World Cup on Saturday.
However, Lionel Messi and company will not form a guard of honour when the rivals meet for the first time this season on Saturday, as Amor explained that Barcelona refuses to recognise such an accomplishment since the Catalan team did not compete in the competition.
“We usually do the guard of honour in the same competition that has been won, which is not the case this time,” the former Barcelona midfielder said, according to Dermot Corrigan of ESPN FC.
News of Barcelona’s refusal will come as somewhat of a blow to Cristiano Ronaldo, who said it would be “nice” to receive a guard of honour at the Santiago Bernabeu.
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