Barcelona outraged at the lack of security measures on arrival in Madrid for El Clasico

El Clasico may have lost its charm and hype in recent years, but it continues to be one of football’s premier clashes. Barcelona and Real Madrid, the two giants of Spanish football, seldom fail to entertain when they lock horns.

The sheer stature of the two clubs and what they mean to football as institutions, however, demands high-level security whenever the two teams face off.

After all, their rivalry is beyond the 90 minutes of football that they engage in and is deeply rooted in nationalistic, cultural and political ideologies.

An unpleasant surprise

As revealed by SPORT in a recent report, Barcelona were left shocked and outraged after they landed in Madrid earlier today for reasons linked to the security arrangement.

As relayed by the Spanish outlet, it is standard protocol for Barcelona players to be escorted by National Police out of the airport until they reach their hotel, purely for safety purposes.

Today, however, there was no trace of the National Police at the airport to receive the Catalan stars at the Madrid airport ahead of El Clasico.

The two buses to transport the team did not have any police units with them either.

Barcelona face Real Madrid tonight at the Bernabeu. (Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)

No respite at the hotel

To rub salt into their wounds, there was no trace of police or security outside the team’s hotel where over 200 fans had gathered to interact with the players.

The crowd jumped over the placed fences to meet the players and chaos ensued, with no police to diffuse the situation.

Eventually, Barcelona’s own security forces were forced to take action and guard the players, and it was clear that the Catalans were unhappy with the reception.

The report adds that the media were not able to capture images of the chaos because of the crowd gathered around the bus.

It remains to be seen if Joan Laporta and Co. raise the issue and claim sanctions for the security lapse.