Barcelona and Real Madrid could not be separated on Wednesday in a Clasico that was briefly interrupted by Catalan independence protests, when dozens of yellow beach balls were thrown onto the pitch at Camp Nou. Protestors held banners, waved flags and even threw inflatable beach balls. Twelve people were injured when police charged hundreds of masked protesters who set garbage bins on fire, according to emergency services. Four hours before kick-off, thousands had gathered at all four corners of the stadium to hold the same blue banners and wave Catalan flags, while some blocked traffic too. For Barcelona, Sergio Busquets was included in the line-up first announced before he was swapped out for Ivan Rakitic.

Source: The Guardian December 18, 2019 21:22 UTC