Barcelona game played without fans amid Catalonia vote

Barcelona joined the protests against the Spanish government’s attempt to halt Catalonia’s independence vote on Sunday by preventing fans from entering Camp Nou Stadium for its Spanish league game against Las Palmas.

The club made the decision to play behind closed doors after its request to postpone the game was denied by the Spanish league. Barcelona said playing in an empty stadium was a way to show its discontent with the incidents in Catalonia.

Officials said more than 460 people were injured Sunday in the northeastern region as Spanish authorities tried to stop the independence vote that the central government said was unconstitutional. Barcelona had openly backed the referendum and criticized the Spanish government for

Yesterday Real Sociedad-Betis ......................... 4-4 Barcelona-Las Palmas ...................... 3-0 Valencia-Ath Bilbao ......................... 3-2 Villarreal-Eibar ................................ 3-0 Real Madrid-Espanyol ..................... 2-0

Standings

P W D L F A Pts Barcelona 7 7 0 0 23 2 21 Sevilla 7 5 1 1 9 3 16 Valencia 7 4 3 0 15 7 15 Atl. Madrid 7 4 3 0 12 4 15 Real Madrid 7 4 2 1 13 6 14 Betis 7 4 1 2 14 11 13 Leganes 7 3 2 2 5 3 11 Real Sociedad 7 3 1 3 17 17 10 Villarreal 7 3 1 3 9 9 10 Levante 7 2 3 2 8 10 9 Celta Vigo 7 2 2 3 13 11 8 Getafe 7 2 2 3 9 7 8 Ath Bilbao 7 2 2 3 9 9 8 Espanyol 7 2 2 3 7 11 8 Dep. La Coruna 7 2 1 4 9 16 7 Girona 7 1 3 3 6 11 6 Las Palmas 7 2 0 5 5 13 6 Eibar 7 2 0 5 3 17 6 Alaves 7 1 0 6 3 10 3 Malaga 7 0 1 6 4 16 1 trying to impede the vote.

Pique, one of the most outspoken players defending the referendum, had called Sunday’s incidents “shameful.”