Laporta says 7th March is possible new date for postponed elections

The three candidates running for the presidency of Spanish giants Barcelona met with the club's acting president Carles Tusquets in the Catalan capital on Friday to discuss the postponement of the elections until early March.

Barcelona announced earlier in the day that the sceduled 24th January date had to be put back because of "mobility restrictions decreed by the Catalan government in the current context of (the coronavirus) pandemic".

Barcelona added that it has asked the Catalan government to allow voting by mail, "a request that the government has undertaken to study".

The three candidates running for the club's presidency are former president Joan Laporta, Victor Font and Toni Freixa - Laporta suggested to SNTV that the new date could be 7th March.

Barcelona have been led by a caretaker board since Josep Bartomeu resigned in October facing the possibility of being removed in a no-confidence motion supported by thousands of club members furious with the team's poor performances and the club's poor financial situation.

Barcelona lost to Bayern Munich 8-2 in the Champions League quarter-finals in August and soaring debts forced the club to practically give away veterans such as Luis Suarez to slash its salary burdens.

Lionel Messi later asked to leave the club but had his request denied. Barcelona play Athletic Bilbao on Sunday in the Spanish Super Cup final. The team currently trail Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in the Spanish league.