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Futbol is more than just a game in Barcelona

       Last week, Barcelona faced Las Palmas in a rather odd manner. They played in a stadium that was completely empty. 
      This was because the game was being played during Barcelona’s independence referendum. La Liga thought that the match should take place because the Catalan police had guaranteed that it would be a safe match, but FC Barcelona did not agree. Therefore, they decided to protest La Liga and had a match without any fans. They essentially missed out on millions of dollars to prove a point. In the Business world, this does not make much since. But, the tensions are so high in Barcelona that a political statement was deemed to be more important than generating profit from the game. This is interesting because in the past couple of months we have seen teams all around the world making political statements, but none as serious as Barcelona’s. Ultimately, FC Barcelona has made the right decision by showing that they are in unity with Barcelona. Although they had the potential to bring in millions for the game, a political statement of this type during this time appears to be way more important.

Comments

  1. Anonymous23 October 2017 at 02:52

    I feel like the reason that FCB can make such a huge political statement without huge backlash is because they really know the opinions of their fans. Because of FCB'c business model where the fans own part of the club and get to vote they are very in touch with their fans views and very informed. FCB felt like they knew their fans would support them not having them at the game because they feel very informed on their fans views. To FCB it seems like it was worth the money because they continue to show that they will put their fans before making money.

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  2. Anonymous23 October 2017 at 14:50

    I am curious as to what the dialogue between FCB, Las Palmas, La Liga and even Spanish government was before the game. While FCB is the one losing money by playing for an empty stadium, Las Palmas is being tied to the political statement as well. Do you think there was a lot of pressure from Spanish Central Government on La Liga to force the game to go on as scheduled? Do you think there was more tension than usual between the players on the field?

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  3. Jessica Ramirez29 October 2017 at 02:39

    I was actually supposed to attend this game but obviously that didn't end up working out! I think it was not only a political statement but an issue of safety. Since that day was a very violent clash, it wouldn't have been the best idea to have a packed stadium full of people, not knowing what would happen. I think that the statement left it's mark, and I know players like Pique said they felt miserable playing in an empty stadium.

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  4. FIFA Investigators6 November 2017 at 03:01

    I think FC Barcelona made the right choice by having a match without the fans. The safety of those around them was much more important than playing in front of the atmosphere they love most (surrounded by fans). Regardless of the fact that the Catalan police said it would be safe, I think La Liga should have made efforts to reschedule the match. FC Barcelona is such a successful club that this incident will not hurt them in any kind of way. Ultimately, they will gain respect from fans throughout the football world. -Emily

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  5. Anonymous6 November 2017 at 08:36

    I think that in a time where one sees many sports organizations acting almost solely as a business which made it interesting to see that FC Barcelona would hold a game without generating any revenue from fan attendance. FC Barcelona is owned by their fans and I think it is shown in this example that they do have a say. Also, I agree with Jessica that this game would have been a potential issue of safety. FC Barcelona took this into consideration and made the right call by having the game without any fans. FC Barcelona decided it was not worth the risk. However, this is not same for every sports organization. For example, we see how FIFA is handling the situation with the 2022 World Cup held in Qatar. Although FC Barcelona is a business, they realized that losing ticket revenue for one home game was not worth the risk which I believe was the right call

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  6. Unknown6 November 2017 at 13:59

    I see where both sides of the argument play a role in this situation. Looking from this as outsider's standpoint I definitely respect the fact that FC stood with Barcelona on this manner putting this before sports and the business itself. Especially because they are also keeping in mind the safety of supporters, because violence would diminish the business and cause future games to have lower attendance. Long term this will probably help not only the team, but the city in the for the future.

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