Barcelona are about to win the league but their fans can’t even wear their club colors on Sunday’s fixture against Espanyol.
If supporters of Barcelona are seen entering Espanyol’s RCDE Stadium on Sunday while sporting any of the team’s trademark colors, they will be turned away.
FC Barcelona and Espanyol are local rivals who play in the Catalan derby. When FC Barcelona play their rivals again on Sunday, they have a chance to clinch the La Liga title with a win. While Espanyol could be in trouble as they are currently battling relegation.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71810016/1245899639.0.jpg)
A win in a Catalan derby would be a joy for many Barcelona fans. It would ensure a league title and they also get to see their hated rivals face relegation.
But now Espanyol has banned fans from wearing the red and blue attire in the highly anticipated match. However, there is a completely different reason behind this drastic measure.
Why did Espanyol ban Barcelona fans from wearing their colors?
Back in December, Barcelona hosted Espanyol at Camp Nou. At the time, the Blaugrana had banned their rival fans from attending the match. They also banned anyone wearing the colors of the team or anything with Espanyol’s emblem.
They had released a statement at the time to announce their decision. It said, “The sale of tickets for Espanyol fans is prohibited. Likewise, fans who come with Espanyol clothing or emblems will be denied entry to the stadium.”
The club reasoned that it wanted to avoid another instance of last season’s Europa League showdown between Barcelona and Eintracht Frankfurt.
As tickets were given within the Barcelona stands of the stadium, 30,000 Frankfurt fans took over the stadium and commanded Camp Nou. They had lost that match 3-1, knocking them out of that competition. It was a huge embarrassment for the Catalans, to have more away fans than home fans.
The home match saw a heated match between the two. In front of 88,000 Barca fans, the two sides played to a 1-1 draw.
Both teams concluded the match with 10 men. Jordi Alba was sent off for Barcelona and Vinicius Souza was sent off for the visitors. Referee Mateu Lahoz also issued 15 yellow cards throughout the game, including one to Barcelona manager Xavi.
❗| If Barça secure La Liga against Espanyol, there will be a joint 'bus parade' on Monday between the men's team and Barça Femeni, who also won the league recently. [@mundodeportivo] #fcblive 🏆 pic.twitter.com/iiS842bf5u
— BarçaTimes (@BarcaTimes) May 9, 2023
Clearly, the derby on Sunday is set to be a high-voltage match, especially considering the stakes involved. If they confirm the title on Sunday, Barcelona is preparing to hold an open-top bus parade on Monday. It would be for both the men’s and the women’s team that has won the Liga F.
Currently, Espanyol sits in the second-bottom position of La Liga, three points below Valencia, while their fierce rivals will be crowned league champions if they win the derby.
