Updated 15.20

VOLCANIC ASH CLOUDS bow to no man – not even Lionel Messi and his superstar team-mates at FC Barcelona.

With the recent eruption of the Icelandic volcano Grimsvotn disrupting their travel plans ahead of this weekend’s Champions League Final, the Spanish champions have taken the decision to bring their flight forward to 10pm this evening.

A statement issued earlier this morning confirmed that the club was not prepared to take any risks by waiting until later in the week to travel, with authorities warning that British airspace may need to be closed depending on the direction in which the ash cloud moves.

This is not the first time that Barcelona have had their travel schedule interrupted by an “act of God.” The similar restrictions imposed by the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull last year meant that the team had to travel by bus to Italy for the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Inter Milan. They subsequently lost that game 3-1, crashing out of the competition despite a 1-0 victory in the return leg a week later.

Speaking to the Press Association earlier today, manager Pep Guardiola said that it was important that he and his team be given as much notice as possible if their travel arrangements had to be altered.

“I hope the volcano sleeps a little bit longer,” he said. “The important thing is that they tell us; whatever they say we’ll do with the maximum anticipation possible.”

Guardiola was also mindful that travel restrictions could prevent large numbers of Barcelona fans from travelling to Saturday’s final, a further problem which their opponents, Manchester United, will not have to contend with.

“The final will be on Saturday,” he said. “Uefa won’t change the date of the final.”

We will play even if the stadium is half empty, but that would be sad. Let’s hope that the volcano doesn’t disrupt travel plans of all the fans who want to go.