UTTER DISGRACE FORCING BARCELONA TO PLAY AMID CATALAN REFERENDUM CHAOS
It was a match that should never have been played. After brutal and heavy-handed tactics by the Spanish police left close to 500 people injured amid chaotic scenes in the Catalan independence referendum on Sunday, Barcelona met Las Palmas behind closed doors at Camp Nou in the afternoon.
The Spanish government had sent in thousands of police officers from across the country in an attempt to halt a vote they had claimed was illegal. And when the Catalan people turned out in numbers to vote for their right to choose on the independence debate, the forces resorted to violence in scenes that have shocked the watching world.
Barca did not want to play. "FC Barcelona condemns the events that have taken place in many parts of Catalonia today in order to prevent its citizens exercising their democratic right to free expression," a club statement read.
And it added: "Given the exceptional nature of events, the Board of Directors have decided that the game against Las Palmas will be played behind closed doors following the Professional Football League's refusal to postpone the game."
That last line was telling. Barcelona did not want to play the match, but their hand was forced. Refusal to do so would have meant giving up all three points and being docked three more, according to president Josep Maria Bartomeu, and come the end of the season, those could be vital in the fight for La Liga. It was, in many ways, a no-win situation.
Thousands of fans were kept outside amid safety concerns. With tensions running high, the Catalan police, the Mossos, could not guarantee the safety of everyone and so, if the match were to go ahead, it had to be behind closed doors.
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