Barcelona president Joan Laporta has confirmed instead confirmed the club will hold a ‘demonstration of the Catalan flag of independence’
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open image in galleryBarcelona fans clashed with police over the Catalan independence flag before their LaLiga opener with Elche (Getty Images)
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Barcelona have cancelled plans to honour their World Cup-winning Spain players before their first home match of the season after police clashed with fans displaying a Catalan independence flag.
Police were accused of “attacking” supporters before last weekend’s LaLiga opener at Elche, actions which Barcelona branded as “disproportionate and violent”.
The Blaugrana were due to hold a ceremony celebrating their Spain contingent’s World Cup glory, as has been happening across LaLiga, before hosting Athletic Club on Thursday, which would have seen the likes of Lamine Yamal, new signing Rodri and Golden Boy winner Pau Cubarsi in the spotlight.
open image in galleryNew signing Rodri would have been spotlighted in a World Cup celebration (Reuters)
But club president Joan Laporta confirmed there will instead be a “demonstration of the Catalan flag of independence”.
“The board of directors have decided that this honorary act will not take place,” Laporta said in message to Barca fans.
“This was an act that we wanted to do to honour the Barca players who won the World Cup, which was proposed to us by the Spanish Federation. Because we don’t feel as though this is the adequate moment or scenario to hold this tribute, and for that reason we will not do it.
“We reached out to the Spanish Federation and they understood our position perfectly. So this act will not take place because we believe football should serve to unite the people, and not to generate certain situations which I don’t think benefit anyone.”
The club will distribute Catalan flags outside the Spotify Camp Nou for fans to fill the stands with.
Laporta said the flag “represents the way of thinking of many culers [Barcelona fans] and Catalans” and that it is “a way of expressing ourselves in a peaceful way, and it doesn’t generate violence or hatred”.
open image in galleryJoan Laporta says the flag “represents the way of thinking of many culers [Barcelona fans] and Catalans” (AFP/Getty)
It comes as tensions surrounding treatment of the Catalan independence movement continue to rumble, with Laporta issuing a stern message criticising the police for recent clashes and demanding for “appropriate punishment.”.
“We at Barcelona reject and condemn the disproportionate and violent actions of the national police that attacked a Barca member for bringing the Catalan flag of independence to the pre-match against Elche,” he said.
“Once what happened has been made clear, and the images are horrifying and very clear, we expect that the appropriate punishment will be inflicted, as must be the case in these situations.
“We hope that with this act of demonstrating the Catalan flag of independence that we will see at the Spotify Camp Nou, will serve from now on, for all Barca fans to go to games with this flag present, without feeling in any danger of physical harm and for this flag not to have this stigma around it to the state forces.”
Barcelona’s clash with Athletic Club will kick off at 10pm BST.