Barcelona FC President, Josep Maria Bartomeu, has said that the club decided to play last Sunday’s La Liga match against Las Palmas behind closed doors as a protest against violent clashes between police and activists in Catalonia rather than a security issue.
Bartomeu said the club tried to have the match abandoned, but instead settled for showing their opposition by playing the match in an empty 99,000 capacity Camp Nou.
“It wasn’t done for security, the security was guaranteed. We wanted to do it due to the exceptional circumstances,” Bartomeu told BeIN Sports Spain.
“We have decided instead of abandoning the game, which is what we all wanted, to play the game in an exceptional manner, which is to say behind closed doors.
“Today there will be a game of football played but it has nothing to do with normality.”
Had Barca refused to play the game, they could have faced a three-point deduction from La Liga on top of forfeiting the match against Las Palmas.
“La Liga’s refusal to cancel the game and play it another day… would mean the loss of six points for the team,” added Bartomeu.
“We talked with the directors, the team and management team and we decided to play the game.
“We have done it behind closed doors so that everyone can see our opposition at what is happening.”
In a strongly-worded statement Barca condemned the actions of the police “to prevent its citizens exercising their democratic right to free expression”.
“We send our support to all those who are suffering that lack of freedom of expression,” added Bartomeu.
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