Spain's interior ministry is not considering sending home its police reinforcements in Catalonia until after the Barça-Madrid football classic has been played on Wednesday, December 18th.
Hundreds of additional Spanish National Police officers have been stationed in Catalonia under the so-called Operation Icarus since the Supreme Court verdicts against pro-independence leaders in October. The extra police presence was first extended until December 31st, but as El Confidencial Digital reported, a second change of mind led to a plan for the early withdrawal of the officers. In the end, though, some police units will stay in Catalonia until after El Clásico.
The December 18th league match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid at Camp Nou, was originally set down for October 26th but was postponed by the Spanish football league due to the protests after the court verdicts. However, now that the new date is approaching, protest platform Tsunami Democràtic has called a "day of mobilization" on the occasion of the game.
In a statement issued on social media and its mobile app, Tsunami has "invited all citizens to save the date and come to the city of Barcelona." The pro-independence movement has called on Barça club members and fans with tickets to the match to send an "internal message of confirmation" to the protest platform through its mobile application.
Given these possible actions, part of the Spanish police's Icarus deployment will stay in Catalonia in case the Catalan Mossos police need support on the day of the big match.