Barcelona plays in empty stadium amid Catalan Referendum

Barcelona will play Las Palmas in an empty Camp Nou as the region goes through turmoil during the Catalan independence vote.

There is turmoil in Spain as people in Catalonia vote on an independence referendum. The city of Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia and unfortunately, there is violence in the streets as protesters and militarized police clash.

The uncertainty forced FC Barcelona to play their game against Las Palmas behind closed doors and without fans in the stands.

This is an understandable security measure. Stadiums at professional sporting events bring a lot of people into a concentrated area and could people at risk. We’ve seen this, unfortunately, play out in Paris attacks near a major soccer game.

It’s also not uncommon for teams to play in empty stadiums or with empty sections, sometimes as a penalty for crowd’s behavior.

Still, the visuals for a La Liga clash involving Barcelona at Camp Nou is stunning.

https://twitter.com/FCBarcelona/status/914493651757256704

“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,” the club said in a statement.

“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.”

Hopefully, the situation in Catalonia is resolved peacefully.