•Barcelona President, Joan Laporta
Barcelona have cancelled their Asian tour pre-season friendly against Japan’s Vissel Kobe citing unspecified “serious contractual breaches”, warning matches in South Korea could also be scrapped.
The Spanish giants had been due to play J-League side Vissel Kobe on Sunday before travelling to South Korea to face FC Seoul on July 31 and Daegu FC on August 4, reports AFP.
Barcelona said in a statement yesterday, “Barcelona announces that it has been obliged to suspend its participation in the game scheduled for next Sunday in Japan due to serious contractual breaches on behalf of the promoter. Barcelona regrets this incident and the impact it will have on the many, many Barca fans in Japan.”
Vissel Kobe, for whom Barcelona and Spain great Andres Iniesta played at the end of his career, said in a statement Thursday that they were “currently investigating the situation”.
“We sincerely apologise for any concern this may cause to the many fans and stakeholders who were looking forward to this match,” Kobe added.
The tour promoters, Seoul-based company D-Drive, said that they were confident the matches in South Korea would be unaffected.
“All scheduled activities in South Korea will take place as planned, without any disruptions,” said a D-Drive statement, which blamed organisers in Japan for the Kobe cancellation.
“This is an issue that stems solely from the Japanese side and has no connection whatsoever with the Korea tour.”
