Villarreal Will Give Barcelona Guard of Honor After Real Madrid’s Failure to Do So

Real Madrid broke tradition not giving the league champions a guard of honor

Villarreal will give FC Barcelona a guard of honor prior to their next meeting after Real Madrid refused to uphold the tradition in el clásico. Usually, the newly-crowned league champions are given a guard of honor by the opposing team immediately prior to their next match. But Real Madrid did not do so.

Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane said they did not give Barcelona a guard of honor because Barça themselves did not do so after Madrid’s Club World Cup win. The Club World Cup guard of honor has been done in the past, but it is not common. Barcelona said they did not give guards of honor to teams for winning a competition that they themselves were not a part of.

In any case, Madrid’s refusal is the only one that breaks a long-standing tradition. Barcelona gave Madrid a guard of honor in 2008, the last time the circumstance dictated it for either team.

Villarreal have, to their credit, agreed to pick up the slack. This will be the second pasillo, or guard of honor, Barcelona have received in the past few weeks. Deportivo La Coruña gave them one in honor of Barça’s Copa del Rey triumph.