Official: Pope Francis's Death Changes Barça's Plans in the Champions League

Pope Francis passed away at 88 years old this past Monday, April 21, 2025. Barça didn't expect last-minute changes before facing Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League, but there has been a surprise. The schedule and the overload of matches is being key in this final stretch of the season, as Barça remains alive in all competitions and is playing 2 matches weekly.

Hansi Flick protested about the match schedules of LaLiga EA Sports, as he believes that playing so late harms and affects the rest of his squad's players. However, this time, Barça will modify its plans and receive good news, even though it comes due to the death of Pope Francis, who passed away this past Monday. Inter Milan, Barça's rival, was arriving at the Champions League duel more rested, but the death of Pope Francis has affected everything.

It turns out that, after the death of Pope Francis, five days of mourning have been declared in Italy and, therefore, the sports programming in the country will be halted. In other words, the match that Inter Milan had scheduled for Saturday, April 26, 2025, will be postponed and played on a new date. This past Tuesday, the Minister of Civil Protection and Sea Policy, Nello Musumeci, confirmed that there will be no Serie A on Saturday, something that will change Barça's plans.

Official, Pope Francis's Death Changes Barça's Plans in the Champions

Inter will have one less day of rest than Barça before visiting Montjuïc on Wednesday, April 30 (9 PM) in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals. Pope Francis's funeral will be held on Saturday, which is why the match between Inter Milan and Roma (Serie A), scheduled for 6 PM, will not be played. According to the Italian authorities, this match will be played on Sunday at 3 PM, so Barça will have one more day of rest than their rival.

Simone Inzaghi's team, tied on points with Napoli in the standings, will also play this Wednesday (9 PM) against Milan in the second leg of the Coppa semifinals. Hansi Flick's Barça will arrive at the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinals with more rest, although next weekend they will face their second final of the season.

It should be remembered that Hansi Flick already protested about schedules that will again harm Barça in this final stretch of the season: the Copa final will end at midnight.