Barcelona forced to play without their fans

Lionel Messi scored twice as Barcelona beat Las Palmas 3-0 in a match played behind closed doors after the Spanish league refused to postpone the game on the day of the highly-charged Catalonia referendum. At least 91 people were injured as Spanish riot police fired rubber bullets and forced their way into activist-held polling stations over the independence vote deemed illegal by the Spanish government on Sunday.


Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu said the club made the decision to play behind closed doors at the 99,000-capacity Camp Nou as a protest against the violent clashes rather than security concerns.

FC Barcelona condemns the events which have taken place in many parts of Catalonia today in order to prevent its citizens exercising their democratic right to free expression, Barcelona said in a statement.  We have done it behind closed doors so that everyone can see our opposition at what is happening, added Bartomeu.

In a statement, La Liga insisted  there was no motive for the game to be abandoned, Had Barca refused to play the game they could have faced a three-point deduction from La Liga on top of forfeiting the match against Las Palmas.

La Liga's refusal to cancel the game and play it another day... would mean the loss of six points for the team, said Bartomeu. Outspoken Barca defender Gerard Pique was in tears at the end of the match. It was the worst professional experience I have had in my life, he told reporters.

A section of Barcelona fans' groups had threatened a peaceful pitch invasion to show their disgust at events at the polling stations if the game was not suspended. We were aware of what had happened. I think the club evaluated the possibility (of not playing) but on a sporting level that penalised us a lot.

Indeed, despite the closure of the stadium, one fan did make it onto the pitch after Barca's second goal before being quickly hauled off by stewards. Huge queues of fans waited outside the 99,000 capacity Camp Nou for hours until a final decision was made less than 30 minutes before kick-off.