The Catalan Parliament in a secret ballot voted for the creation of a Catalonia republic with 70 votes in favour, ten against and two abstentions, and so how does that impact on the world of sport, who will be the ruling bodies and what will be the national teams.
An independent Catalonia does not mean that their teams can compete where they want and the process is long if other similar situations are compared where there was international recognition which Catalonia does not have. The Barcelona president has said that the club wants to continue playing in LaLiga and the acceptance of an independent Catalonia in the world of football is down to FIFA who decide on which federations are permissible. If you consider football and other sports then the possibility that the new bodies would be accepted from one day to another is impossible and could go on for six years in some cases.
There is no way that Barcelona, Espanyol or any other LaLiga side would be excluded immediately from the competition and everything would be the same as now.
The situation would change when the Catalan Federation was given its new legal status, and while this is not something that would be considered to happen within six months, the Spanish sports law does not permit for teams from other countries to take part except for Andorra.
The government has no plans to change the law and so as things stand the new federations under independence would be excluded.
On an international level there would not be an admission automatically for the new federations either and this could take many years as mentioned earlier, with the decision down to the ruling bodies. In the Champions League, the teams that take part have to meet certain requirements set down by UEFA but it is the national federations that select the teams initially through their sporting success.
But FC Barcelona said it will not make a statement on Catalan independence
The Catalan government’s declaration of independence has resulted in an endless number of reactions in all fields, particularly in sport, but Barcelona have declined to comment on the issue.
On Friday, Spanish parliament approved direct rule over the region, which voted 70-10 in favour of declaring independence. However, Barcelona have no intention of making an official statement on the matter and are being prudent in their conduct given how delicate the situation is and the legality of it. Any comments given about it will be an individual’s personal viewpoint and not those of the club, as was the case when Ernesto Valverde discussed the situation briefly in his pre-match press conference.
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde attempted to cool the divisive issue by insisting that no assumptions about the situation should be made. It has been mooted that the Blaugrana could be forced to ply their trade in a different division other than LaLiga if Catalan independence is achieved.
Valverde added he preferred to focus his attention on sporting matters. “The political situation is a question that keeps coming up and I’m not going to deny that I’m following it closely just like everyone else,” Valverde said to the media in his pre-match press conference.
“I have my own personal opinion but this is politics and it seems that every five minutes, something changes and more things could happen today and tomorrow.” Personally, I want to focus on sport because my responsibility is Barcelona and ensuring we win. We shouldn’t assume things about the league; all I’m worried about is our next game against Athletic. “That in itself promises to be an emotional occasion for the 53-year-old, who has enjoyed successful spells at the club both as a player and coach.”
Anthony Nlebem
