Barcelona club postpones presidential election over COVID-19 fears

FILE PHOTO: A giant electoral poster of FC Barcelona presidential hopeful Joan Laporta is seen on a building next to the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain - December 15, 2020. REUTERS/Juan Medina

BARCELONA (Reuters) - FC Barcelona has postponed its presidential election originally scheduled for Jan. 24 due to a spike in coronavirus cases in the region of Catalonia, the Catalan government said on Friday.

The regional government, who met with Barca representatives on Friday, had extended restrictions a day earlier to fight the spread of the virus, preventing people from leaving their municipality unless for work, education or medical reasons.