Barcelona’s tie with Las Palmas will be played behind closed doors this afternoon.
Barcelona were keen to postpone Sunday’s fixture amid fears of supporters’ safety, while La Liga pushed for the clubs to go ahead with the game in spite of the chaos taking place outside the stadium.
The ongoing violence on the streets of Catalonia, where police officers fired rubber bullets at voters and protesters who are in favour of the controversial Catalan independence referendum, has ultimately inspired the decision to deny fans access to the game.
More than 300 people have been injured as riot police continue to attempt to prevent voters from registering their ballots.
aixà ens han tractat al cap guinardó. imatges de jordi folch pic.twitter.com/q35tOc5n1u
— natza farré (@natzafarre) October 1, 2017
Confusion reigned at the Nou Camp in the run-up to the scheduled kick-off time, as journalists entered the stadium and players from both sides took to the pitch to warm-up.
Clarity was hard to come by as conflicting reports of a postponement and an outright cancellation emerged but those stories have been proven untrue as official confirmation came from Barcelona’s Twitter account with just minutes remaining before the game.
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) October 1, 2017
“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,” a statement reads.
“Given the exceptional nature of events, the Board of Directors have decided that the FC Barcelona first team game against Las Palmas will be played behind closed doors following the Professional Football League’s refusal to postpone the game.”
