Barça's game vs. Juve called off due to virus, will hit club financially slightly

Barcelona's friendly match against Juventus on Saturday in Santa Clara, their first of the American tour, has been called off because of an illness spreading around the Catalan team.

It is a sporting setback because it disrupts the pre-season planning in terms of workloads, but it is also a small financial blow for the club. 

The total income from the tour will most likely be reduced because the fact of not playing the match will mean that they will not be paid what they had stipulated in the contract. Barça will no longer receive a percentage of the match ticketing.

However, FC Barcelona will not be obliged to pay any compensation to the organisers because they had taken out insurance against a possible cancellation due to force majeure. 

And a bout of gastroenteritis affecting some 14 members of the first team is one of them. Fans who had already bought their tickets will be refunded. 

Initially, the club tried to push the match to Sunday, but there was no certainty that the players would be recovered in time.

Barça's next friendly on their tour of the United States is on Wednesday (Thursday 27th at 4.30am Spanish time) against Mikel Arteta's Arsenal in Los Angeles.

The club are optimistic that they will have overcome the problem by then and will be able to play the game without any problems.