Espanyol are threatening not to play the upcoming Copa Catalunya if opponents Barcelona continue with a policy of not playing their best side in the supposedly showpiece event.
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The tournament is an officially sanctioned competition played since the 1980s, which has been won eight times by Barcelona, six times by Espanyol, and also claimed by smaller local sides including Nastic de Tarragona, Sant Andreu, Terrassa and FC Andorra.
Barca beat Espanyol in the two most recent finals, which had been moved to dates which suited the Blaugrana outfit, who then played under-strength sides.
This year the Federacio Catalana de Futbol (FCF) again decided to organise a Catalan Supercopa between its two biggest clubs and this was set for Wednesday Oct. 29, a midweek date the FCF said was chosen so that the clubs could play their strongest available teams in the game.
#INSERT type:image caption:Barcelona coach Luis Enrique has refused to promise that he will play his best side in the Copa Catalunya. END#
However Espanyol president Joan Collet has told Catalan station 8tv, picked up by AS, that he was unsure that Barca were going to fulfill that expectation, and said his club would not continue to take part if the game was not being taken seriously.
"We are tired that every year it is the same," Collet said. "A day comes, the game is called off, or the date does not suit Barcelona well. We are not sure Barcelona will play their first team, and if we do not get that assurance the competition will probably not be played."
Asked about the issue at his Tuesday news conference, Barca coach Luis Enrique steered clear of making any concrete promises, just saying he would use players who are registered for the Champions League.
"I know the Catalunya Supercopa is on Oct. 29, which is more than a month and a week away," Luis Enrique said. "We will use players on the Champions League list, and those who usually help us, but I do not know which ones."
Barca's 25 man Champions League squad includes stars Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Neymar, along with a significant number of Barca B youngsters including Sergi Samper, Alen Halilovic, Munir El-Haddadi, Sandro Ramirez, Alejandro Grimaldi and Adama Traore.
Summer signing Luis Suarez is also on that list, and would be free to play on Oct. 29 as his suspension for biting Giorgio Chiellini at last summer's World Cup ends the previous weekend.
A similar attempt to introduce a more high-profile 'Supercopa' took place in 2012, however it was cancelled after the clubs could not agree a date.