Barcelona had planned to honor players who won the World Cup with Spain at the club’s first home match of the season. But the La Liga defending champions have canceled that event following an incident involving the Estelada, the pro-independence flag of Catalonia.
Ahead of Thursday’s Spanish league home match against Athletic Bilbao, a demonstration in support of the Estelada was held at Camp Nou. A local organization distributed roughly 10,000 small flags among supporters. Several large flags and banners were also visible in the stands. Supporters raised the flags while Barcelona’s anthem played.
According to local media reports before the match, several thousand supporters also marched near Camp Nou carrying Estelada flags.
Eight Barcelona players were on Spain’s World Cup-winning squad: Joan García, Eric García, Pedri, Pau Cubarsí, Gavi, Rodri, Dani Olmo and Lamine Yamal. That is the highest number from any single club, which is why Barcelona had planned a special reception to honor them.
But the situation changed after police confiscated an Estelada flag from a young Barcelona supporter ahead of last week’s match against Elche. When the supporter argued with police officers, he was struck with a baton and detained.
Barcelona has expressed regret over the incident. The club maintains that the Estelada is a legally recognized symbol and that displaying it is a legitimate exercise of freedom of expression. Barcelona also called the method used to detain the supporter disproportionate, saying it believes the police’s use of force lacked adequate justification.
Explaining the decision to cancel the World Cup winners’ reception, Barcelona president Joan Laporta said: “We cannot hold this kind of event at this moment. Football should unite people. It cannot be a source of conflict.”
Other Spanish clubs had previously held joint events with the Spanish Football Federation to honor Spain’s World Cup-winning players, with the trophy on display and Spain coach Luis de la Fuente in attendance. But because of the tension surrounding the Estelada flag, that pattern will not continue at Barcelona.