"In early June, insulting messages and graffiti appeared in his hometown of Sallent and even after seven months, emotions have clearly not cooled. The situation has raised fears of a hostile atmosphere similar to one of the darkest moments in Spanish football history, when Luis Figo returned to Camp Nou wearing a Real Madrid shirt in 2000 and was targeted with a pig's head thrown onto the pitch."
"More than a month ago, in a food market in central Barcelona, a vendor revealed that fans had asked him for advice on how to obtain rats."
"Aware of the potential risks, Espanyol have been working closely with the Spanish police for weeks to prepare security measures for the match at RCDE Stadium. The club has issued clear warnings to supporters, reminding them that any serious incident could result in heavy sanctions, including fines or the partial or total closure of stands. As part of these measures, several items will be banned from entering the stadium."
Tensions are high ahead of the Catalan derby as sections of Espanyol's fanbase plan protests targeting goalkeeper Joan Garcia. Garcia moved from Espanyol to Barcelona last summer and is expected to face an openly hostile reception. Insulting messages and graffiti appeared in his hometown of Sallent in early June and emotions remain escalated after seven months. Some ultras are reportedly planning to attempt to throw rats onto the pitch, with a market vendor saying fans asked how to obtain rats. Espanyol have coordinated with Spanish police on security preparations, issued warnings about sanctions, and will ban several items from the stadium.
Read at Barca Universal
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]