Catalonia should stick with Spain and avoid disaster, Spain’s foreign minister said on Wednesday, becoming the only member of Madrid’s centre-right government to debate on television with a secessionist adversary on the heated topic of Catalan independence.
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“If Spain splits, so too does La Liga”.
A bitter standoff dragging in everyone from politicians to footballers hits a climax Sunday when nationalists in Catalonia hope voters will back them to strike out for independence from Spain. Spanish bank associations have also warned that banking groups might have to reconsider their positions in Catalonia in the case of independence.
As tension mounts between the rich northeastern region and the Spanish government, Mas told AFP in an interview how he wants his drive for Catalan independence to play out after the vote.
LFP President Javier Tebas has hinted that Barcelona and Espanyol would not be allowed to participate in La Liga if Catalonian independence was granted. “People could speak in Catalan in public without fear and even listen to songs in Catalan”, historian Carles Santacana said, adding that in 1918 the club demanded that Catalonia be self-governed.
Barcelona would be kicked out of La Liga if Catalunya becomes independent, league chiefs have confirmed.
“Now there are elections in Catalunya; next week there’s a vote, but Barca are not part of the electoral campaign”.
Such a result, opponents say, would have catastrophic consequences for FC Barcelona, which has won five of the past seven Spanish titles and 23 overall, as well as lifting the UEFA Champions League trophy four times in the past decade.
Rajoy, facing a December general election, previous year banned a non-binding referendum on independence and has repeatedly said that the only talks possible on Catalonia’s status have to take place within Spain’s current legal status quo.
The reality however is more nuanced.
If it succeeds in becoming independent, not only could Spain lose a substantial financial contribution, it could encourage another region fraught with separatist sentiment – which in the past manifested itself in bombing campaigns – in the autonomous Basque country to bid for full independence.
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Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu was asked about the elections during his side’s win over Levante on Sunday, but said the club would be neutral and take no stance ahead of the polls.
