FC Barcelona president, Joan Laporta, has confirmed that the club will not hold the planned tribute this Thursday to the international footballers who were world champions with Spain. At Camp Nou, an “act of exaltation of the estelada” will be held. In this context, the ANC and Òmnium Cultural have called to fill Camp Nou with estelades this Thursday. The decision comes after the controversy generated in Elche, where estelades were confiscated from Barça fans, police charges occurred, and a Barça member, with whom the club has been in contact, was assaulted.
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“It is neither the most appropriate context nor moment to hold this tribute. Football should serve to unite and not to generate confrontations that benefit no one,” said Laporta, who defended that the estelada is a legal symbol protected by freedom of expression and represents a part of the fanbase and Catalan society. “It is a peaceful way of expressing ourselves that does not generate violence or hatred. The estelada must be respected because it represents our aspirations for freedom,” claimed the Barça president.
It is neither the most appropriate context nor moment to hold this tribute. Football should serve to unite and not to generate confrontations that benefit no one”
Laporta also reiterated his condemnation of “the disproportionate and violent actions” of the National Police officers who, he reported, “assaulted a Barça member” in the moments leading up to the match against Elche. “The images are horrifying and very clear. Once the facts have been reconfirmed, we ask that the pertinent sanctions and punishments be applied,” he stated.
The event refers to the initiative by ANC and Òmnium Cultural, who have called to fill Camp Nou with estelades this Thursday
The president’s words and the event refer to the initiative by ANC and Òmnium Cultural, who have called to fill Camp Nou with estelades this Thursday as a protest against the police action in Elche. The Assemblea has announced that it will distribute 10,000 estelades around the stadium before the match between Barça and Athletic Club. It has called attendees for 8:15 PM in the Josep Munté gardens, from where they will move to access 15 of Camp Nou to distribute the flags. The call also questions the tribute initially planned for the Barça players who were world champions with the Spanish national team.
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Òmnium, for its part, defends that the estelada is a “symbol” and that carrying it is a “right”. “We carry estelades and denounce impunity against Catalanophobia,” stated the entity chaired by Xavier Antich.
The ANC has raised the tone of its call: “No tribute to the oppressors’ team! Against their Catalanophobia, let’s show our strength more than ever.” The organization denounces that “the Spanish and colonizing police beat independentist minors and confiscate estelades, while we hear chants of ‘Puta Catalunya’ in stadiums.”
The National Police has opened an internal investigation
The controversy has also provoked an institutional reaction. The National Police has opened an internal investigation to clarify its actions during the Elche-Barça match, while the Minister of Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, explained that action was taken due to the possibility of “disproportionate use of force.” Images circulated on social media show several National Police officers hitting a young man carrying an estelada with their batons in the Elche stadium.
