Barcelona could be forced to leave Spain’s premier competition…
Barcelona could be dramatically removed from La Liga next month, after reports confirmed that they would not be permitted to compete in the Spanish premier league, should Catalonia become independent.
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The Camp Nou club would have to play in a Catalan division instead, along with Espanyol. According to reports in the Daily Mail, here could be an independence referendum on 9th November, with players Xavi and Gerard Pique both in favour of it taking place.
Javier Tebas, the country’s football league chief, confirmed earlier today that Barcelona would not be allowed to play in La Liga if Catalonia broke away from Spain, as tensions mounted in the region over a possible vote.
Tebas explained that the country’s sports law entitles only one non-Spanish territory – Andorra – to legally participate in the league or other official competition, and FC Andorra already competes in the Spanish league system.
“If Catalonia became independent, taking into consideration the Sports Law that would be enforced by the rest of Spain, Barcelona wouldn’t be allowed to play,” Tebas, the president of the LFP, told a sports conference in Barcelona.
“There would have to be a change in the law made in the Spanish Parliament. Clearly if it happened then it would be detrimental for Spanish football to lose Barca.
“I can’t imagine the LFP without Barca. In the same way as I can’t imagine Catalonia without Spain, I can’t see La Liga without Barca. Also if it did happen what would you call the league: the Spanish League or the Iberian League?”
The loss of Barcelona, the current league leaders – who are unbeaten and yet to concede a goal – would certainly be a huge loss to the Spanish league, which is regularly dominated by the Catalans and the El Classico rivals Real Madrid.
However, the fact that Andorra – a tiny state straddling the Pyrenees Mountains that separate Spain from France – is allowed to play in the league creates a precedent however that could permit Barcelona’s eventual inclusion.
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