FC Barcelona has issued a statement condemning the “disproportionate use of force” employed by the National Police against a blaugrana fan at the gates of the Martínez Valero stadium in Elche, in the lead-up to the Sunday night league match.
The blaugrana club defends the young fan from whom the National Police confiscated an independence flag as he was about to enter the stadium, and immediately afterwards indiscriminately beat him with batons, as seen in the footage captured by a fan, who uploaded it to X.
The Club considers that “the procedure for detaining one of our fans was disproportionate and lacked the necessary consistency and timeliness in the use of force,” states FC Barcelona in the statement.
The ‘estelada’ is a legal symbol and its display constitutes a legitimate expression of freedom of speech and cannot be considered an incitement to hatred or violence”
FC Barcelona
In response to this excessive behavior by the National Police officers, the blaugrana club makes itself “available to the detained fan and his family to offer them the support they may need.”
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FC Barcelona also “regrets that, once again, National Police officers confiscated estelada flags from blaugrana fans.” The club reminds that “the estelada is a legal symbol” and that its display “constitutes a legitimate expression of freedom of speech and cannot by itself be considered an incitement to hatred or violence.”
The blaugrana club reserves the right to take any actions it deems appropriate “to defend the integrity, rights, and freedom of expression” of its members and fans, both at Spotify Camp Nou and at rival teams’ stadiums.
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