Barcelona have cancelled their upcoming pre-season friendly against Vissel Kobe in Tokyo due to what the club called “serious contractual breaches” by the event promoter. Originally scheduled for Sunday, the fixture was part of Barca’s Asian tour, which now faces further disruption.
Idman.biz, citing BBC, reports that while Barcelona did not name the responsible party in its official statement, Yasuda Group was identified as the promoter when the tour was first announced. The club also warned that the second leg of their tour — matches in South Korea against FC Seoul and Daegu on July 31 and August 4 — may also be called off unless contractual conditions are met.
"Barcelona regrets this incident and the impact it will have on the many, many Barca fans in Japan," the statement said.
Meanwhile, Vissel Kobe expressed apologies to disappointed fans, and South Korean promoter D-Drive reassured supporters it is working hard to proceed with the scheduled games.
Idman.biz
