The Joan Gamper Trophy is much more than just an annual match in Barcelona’s calendar. It marks the club’s first official game each season and pays tribute to the Catalan club’s founder.
The game was scheduled to take place against AS Roma on 6 August this year and promises the long-awaited return of Jose Mourinho at the Camp Nou.
tomorrow, blogranas Officially announced that their Italian opponents unilaterally withdrew the contract and refused to participate in the game. It was further emphasized that the move was made “without reason”.
CDS (H/T) barcacenter) to bring to light the reason behind Roma’s sudden decision. It is reported that the Italians canceled the contract at the request of Paris Saint-Germain and European Club Association president Nasser Al-Khelai’i.
The ECA informed Roma that organizing friendly games with ‘rebel’ Super League clubs would not be appreciated.
It comes on the back of Barcelona’s continued support for a new European Super League. The Catalans have been a strong supporter of the UEFA Champions League replacement with Real Madrid and Juventus and their stance has not pleased the ECA.
As it stands, Catalans are in the process of returning all sold tickets. In addition, they are also studying the possibility of taking legal action against Mourinho’s side.
Barcelona have lost their last two matches against AS Roma. While the most recent game was a friendly in the International Champions Cup, in the previous match the Catalans were humiliated in the Champions League as they took a three-goal advantage.
