Security ramped up for Barca’s emotive La Liga opener

BARCELONA: A huge security presence on Sunday will oversee Barcelona’s first match since two terror attacks in Catalonia killed 14 people and left 120 more injured.

Barca host Real Betis (1815GMT kick-off) at the club’s 99,000 capacity Camp Nou to open their La Liga campaign with the country still reeling from the most deadly attack on Spanish soil in 13 years.

A manhunt continues for a Moroccan national suspected to have been the driver of a van that ploughed into crowds on Barcelona’s Las Ramblas, killing 13, on Thursday.

Hours later attackers struck again in Cambrils, 120 kilometres south of Barcelona, where a car rammed into pedestrians, killing one person.

Catalonia’s regional police force confirmed there would be additional officers on duty outside the Camp Nou, but encouraged supporters to attend ‘calmly’.

“The recommendation is to go calmly, to be able to enjoy a game of football and that people can go reassured because the security presence is adequate for the number of people attending,” said Albert Oliva, a spokesman for the Mossos d’Esquadra.

Just over 50 miles northeast of Barcelona, concrete road blocks were mounted outside Girona’s Estadi Montilivi as their first ever La Liga match against Atletico Madrid passed off safely in front of a near capacity 13,500 crowd.

“They are extraordinary and lamentable circumstances,” said Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde on Saturday.

However, Valverde hoped fans wouldn’t be dissuaded by security fears and show the same spirit as huge crowds that gathered in the city’s central Plaza de Catalunya on Friday to chants of “not afraid”.

“We are calm. Moreover, we support the reaction of the people yesterday in Plaza Catalunya that ‘ we are not afraid’,” added Valverde.

“We have to stand up to these circumstances and the best way is by moving forward.

“We know the way the world is, we are all potentially victims at any given moment, be it going to the metro station or going to a football ground.

“But it is something you can’t control and we can’t hide.”

With the peak summer tourism season still in full swing and thousands of tourists expected to attend for the chance to see five- time World Player of the Year Lionel Messi, Barca said the “maximum possible” security measures would be put in place to reassure fans. — AFP