A major Barcelona fan group are boycotting the club’s home clash against Cadiz in La Liga on Monday night following “the greatest infamy at our home”.
The ultras Grada d’Animacio (Animation Stand) group, who provides plenty of colour and noise at home games behind the goals, issued the statement over the weekend and in protest of the mass of Eintracht Frankfurt fans who took over Camp Nou during Thursday’s Europa League tie.
The Blaugrana were left deeply embarrassed by their Europa League elimination at the hands of the mid-table Bundesliga side on Thursday.
However, an ever more eye-catching development from that clash was that there were 30,000 German fans inside the stadium to cheer their side on, though it remains a mystery how so many were allowed in. There have been issues with Barca's supporters giving up their tickets in the past. It has now been described as a “humiliation we will never forget” by a leading fans group.
Barcelona boss Xavi was furious at the state of the events and fumed after the game: "Clearly the atmosphere did not help and the club is looking into why this happened. The players want to know why too. It was a clear miscalculation on our part. This cannot be allowed to happen. It was more like a final with the stadium divided."
Even Barcelona club president Joan Laporta spoke out, admitting: "It’s a disgrace what has happened. I feel embarrassed." And defender Ronald Araujo said: "I was surprised that there were so many people from Eintracht Frankfurt in the Camp Nou stands. The club should look at that."
The fan group Grada d’Animacio has now said in a statement: “Last Thursday we experienced a day that will be marked forever as the greatest infamy at our home. As fans and members of FC Barcelona we have experienced many victories and many defeats on the field of play, but as a fan group, we have experienced a social humiliation that we will never forget.”
The group added that the system that allowed Frankfurt visitors to get their hands on tickets for the clash had failed Barca fans, adding that the mass buy-up should have been detected and prevented by the club – who they allege did not do enough.
The statement added: “Who knows where we would be right now with another group of fans. Our task is simple but very complicated, to set the mood and help cheer up the rest of the stadium to get victories, because we are very clear that as fans we are the 12th team player.
"However, the events that took place on Thursday meant that we were forced to take action, as we did during the match and on other occasions, and that is precisely why we will attend the next match between FC Barcelona and Cadiz.
“We are convinced that, as members and fans of FC Barcelona, we cannot ever allow again a remotely similar situation, and we ask the parties involved to remember that not everything in life is a few million, especially if we talk about a club that has as a motto ‘more than a club’.”
Frankfurt will now face West Ham in the Europa League semi-finals after the London side blew Lyon away in France to set up a tantalising tie. The winner will take on either Rangers or RB Leipzig in the final with a British side harbouring real ambitions of lifting the trophy at the end of the season. Barcelona – who had been the favourites to lift the trophy this season – have been left to lament their defeat.
