Barcelona, Real Madrid announce legends 'El Clasico' in Israel amid backlash

FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF have announced that they will be jointly staging a "Legends Clasico" match in Israel on July 20. The match is expected to bring in a stellar combination of players for both the Barcelona Legends and the Real Madrid Leyendas. However, some fans are not happy with the decision to hold the event at Israel's Bloomfield Stadium due to the ongoing religious and socio-political conflict in the area.

The Bloomfield Stadium is expected to receive up to 30,000 fans to witness the historic match, but many supporters are already calling for a boycott of the event. In their Facebook page, the official Real Madrid Fan Association in Jordan released the following statement:

"Official Real Madrid Fan Association - Jordan announces its boycott of Real Madrid legends match against Barcelona legends that will be held in the Occupied Palestinian Territories at the end of this month."

They went on to speak about the ongoing conflict in the area. "The association also affirms its firm position by adhering to the values of Islam and the rejection of the existence of the occupation and all its activities at all levels, whether sport, social, political or economic."

The protest is being supported by the fan associations in other Islamic states in the area, and it remains to be seen if the Spanish giants will listen to the concerns that were raised.

Real Madrid and Barcelona typically hold charity matches during the off-season annually, and this is a significant step towards returning to normal after the previous summer was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Barcelona Legends team will be coached by Chapi Ferrer, and according to the squad list that was released, big names such as Ronaldinho, Rivaldo and Deco will be suiting up.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid Leyendas have not released their line-up yet, but in the past, high profile legends such as Ronaldo, Luis Figo, David Beckham, Fernando Hierro and Raul Gonzalez have taken part.

It will definitely be a nostalgic evening, but one that will be blanketed in religious and political tension.