Barcelona cancel Morocco pre-season friendly amid Ceuta migrant crisis

Barcelona have cancelled their planned pre-season friendly in Morocco against IR Tangier due to the ongoing migrant crisis in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.

The Catalan club were scheduled to face the northwestern Moroccan side on 15 August as part of their preparations for the upcoming campaign.

However, escalating tensions between Spain and Morocco over the border situation have forced the club to abandon the fixture.

Diplomatic tensions halt pre-season plans

Roughly 78,000 migrants have crossed into Ceuta from the North African coast in recent days, resulting in a severe humanitarian emergency.

The surge has sparked a fierce diplomatic row within the European Union and led to the deployment of Spanish armed forces to the region.

A statement released by the Spanish giants on Thursday confirmed the fixture had been formally ruled out.

In light of the current uncertainty and circumstances, FC Barcelona considers playing the match would be inappropriate.

Disrupted preparations for title defence

This latest cancellation leaves the La Liga champions with a severely curtailed pre-season schedule.

A previously arranged behind-closed-doors match against Preston North End on 3 August was also scrapped at the Championship club’s request.

The English side reportedly sought the cancellation because they were unable to field enough first-team players.

The reigning Spanish champions will now begin their title defence against Elche on 23 August with limited match practice under their belts.