A Barca test match in Japan is initially canceled. Now a lawsuit is announced. Then there is the insane turnaround.
FC Barcelona’s trip to Asia is increasingly becoming a soap opera. The dispute over the trip escalated on Thursday morning, initially after the canceled test match against Vissel Kobe. A lawsuit was already officially threatened. But then there was the insane turnaround. The match is taking place after all.
What had happened? The match scheduled for Sunday had already been canceled. As the top club announced on Wednesday evening, the decision to cancel was made due to “serious breaches of contract” by the organizer. The entire Asia trip was on the verge of collapse.
Kamine Yamal will not play against Vissel Kobe with Barca
As a reminder: Further test matches against FC Seoul and Daegu FC are planned in South Korea on July 31 and August 4. But according to AS, Barca set off on Thursday afternoon.
The organizer D-Drive, who is organizing FC Barcelona’s trip, sent an official letter to the media a few hours before the Catalans’ departure to Asia.
Seul Ham, CEO and official promoter of Barca’s Asia tour, made serious allegations public on behalf of D-Drive.
Ham explained that the game against Vissel Kobe was canceled due to outstanding payments. The Yasuda Group was supposed to finance the game as a sponsor, but did not transfer a cent and apparently tried to commit a major fraud.
Dispute over canceled Barca game
“D-Drive had expected to receive full payment for the game today; however, the funds ultimately did not arrive. Instead, the Yasuda Group repeatedly submitted invalid and forged documents and falsely claimed to us that the payment had already been transferred to Korea,” the statement said.
But Ham claims to have an audio recording of an employee from the Yasuda Group. In it, the person would confirm the missing payment, “which clearly confirms intentional fraud.”
And that should have far-reaching consequences for the Yasuda Group – by the way, shirt sponsor of Barca rival Real Sociedad San Sebastián last season.
D-Drive announced that it would take legal action in Japan “to claim damages. In contrast to Japan, the organizer in Korea has fully prepared the games and covered all associated costs.”
According to the announcement, Barca’s Asia trip should still take place. Ham wanted to at least play the two games in South Korea as planned. Now there is even the game in Japan after the big U-turn.