FC Barcelona to go on strike over Catalonian independence referendum violence
Barcelona Football Club have announced they will be closed on Tuesday and join the strike as they take part in a civil action called for by Taula per la Democràcia (Table for Democracy).
In a tweet published by their official account, the club posted, “FC Barcelona joins the countrywide strike called for by Table for Democracy and therefore the Club will be closed tomorrow.”
FC Barcelona joins the country wide strike called for by Table for Democracy and therefore the Club will be closed tomorrow.
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) October 2, 2017
Barcelona’s first team will not be called in for training, with the youth team players also given the day off.
The action has been called in response to clashes between involving police and voters when a referendum on Catalan independence turned violent at the weekend, which saw hundreds injured.
FC Barcelona released a statement earlier on Monday announcing it would observe a standstill from 12.00pm to 12.15pm CET in which it vehemently condemned “the use of violence to prevent the exercise of free democratic rights and the freedom of expression of its people” during the referendum.
“By their own free will, the club’s employees all stopped what they were doing and left their workplaces for a quarter of an hour,” the statement read.
“The same thing happened right across the FC Barcelona premises: in the club offices at the Camp Nou, at La Masia, and also in the Miniestadi and Ciutat Esportiva."
It followed the club playing last weekend’s La Liga fixture with Las Palmas behind closed doors following the league’s refusal to allow the fixture to be postponed.
Given the exceptional nature of the circumstances, the board of directors decided to play the game against Las Palmas behind closed doors following the Professional Football League’s refusal to allow the fixture to be postponed.
