No fans at Barcelona game amid tense Catalonia vote
Barcelona joined the protests against the Spanish government’s attempt to halt Catalonia’s independence vote 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.
Barcelona won the match 3-0 with two goals by Lionel Messi and one by Sergio Busquets.
“We tried to suspend the game all day long, but it wasn’t possible,” Barcelona President Josep Bartomeu said. “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 with what happened” in Catalonia.
By day’s end, Catalonia’s health services said 844 people had been treated in hospitals for injuries, including two in serious condition, as Spanish authorities tried to stop the independence vote that the central government said was unconstitutional. Thirtythree police were also injured.
It was a different atmosphere in Madrid, where Real Madrid beat Catalan club Espanyol 2-0 with two goals by Isco in a match in which Madrid fans displayed cards with the Spanish flag colors.
Arsenal and Liverpool head into the international break in very different moods from the last one, even though only a point separates them in the English Premier League.
Seventh-place Liverpool’s latest setback came with a 1-1 draw at Newcastle. Arsenal eased to a 2-0 victory over Brighton.
Arsenal is six points behind the Manchester pacesetters of City and United.
In Major League Soccer play, Roland Alberg scored in the 88th minute, Andre Blake had his ninth shutout and the host Philadelphia Union beat the Seattle Sounders 2-0.
In NASL play, Kenny Teijsse’s header off Bekker’s corner kick in the 78th minute gave the San Francisco Deltas a 1-0 win at FC Edmonton. The Deltas (11-5-9) remain in second place in the combined standings.