lionel-messi-1.png
Getty Images

Barcelona have announced that voting for their upcoming presidential and board of directors is likely to be postponed until a later date. The Catalan government and the giants of La Liga met virtually on Friday to discuss the matter and the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

Previously scheduled for January 24, mobility restrictions make the elections almost impossible in a logistical sense.

"This Friday, January 15," read an official statement. "The Catalan Government and FC Barcelona have held a virtual working meeting to address the holding of the elections for President and Board of Directors of the sports entity in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"In the course of the meeting, the Government has conveyed to the club that the current epidemiological situation does not make it possible to authorize the movement outside the municipality to members who do not have a polling station in their municipality on January 24, given the high mobility this would entail.

"For its part, the club has stated the impossibility of holding elections on the scheduled date due to mobility restrictions decreed by the Catalan Government in the current context of pandemic, which is why the date of the elections must be delayed."

Barcelona then went on to clarify that they have requested that the Catalan authorities enable voting by post as a potential solution.

"In this sense," they added. "The club has asked the Catalan Government to evaluate the possibility of modifying the current sports legislation in order to enable voting by post on the new date of the elections, a request that the Government has undertaken to study."

Barcelona are currently third in La Liga and seven points behind leaders Atletico Madrid having played two games more and the legendary Lionel Messi's future -- and that of coach Ronald Koeman -- at Camp Nou could depend on the outcome of the elections.