The Scotsman

Barcelona play behind closed doors in protest

- By JOSEPH WILSON

Barcelona’s Spanish league game against Las Palmas was played without fans at the Camp Nou Stadium amid the disputed independen­ce referendum yesterday.

The football club had openly backed the referendum and criticised the Spanish government for trying to impede the vote, and its president said the decision to play behind closed doors was made as a way to protest against the government’s actions in Catalonia.

Barcelona won the match 3-0 with two goals by Lionel Messi and one by Sergio Busquets.

The club wanted the game to be postponed, but it said that the Spanish league refused to accept its request.

“We tried to suspend the game all day long but it wasn’t possible,” Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu said. 0 Barcelona announced the move shortly before kick off

“We could lose points if we didn’t play, so we decided to play behind closed doors as a way to show the entire world that we were not pleased.”

Mr Bartomeu said police had guaranteed the safety of fans and everyone else involved in the match, and the club could have allowed them in if it wanted. Barcelona made the announceme­nt less than half an hour before kick-off, with thousands of fans waiting outside the stadium.

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