The harsh warning that FC Barcelona gave to its cheering stands

The FC Barcelona has decided to address in a firm manner an issue of great importance that goes beyond the sports field: the chants and insults coming from the Espai d'Animació, the fan section, towards opponents during the team's home matches at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys (Montjuïc).

The blaugrana club has notified the four main fan groups - Penya Barcelonista Almogàvers, Penya Barcelonista Front 532, Penya Barcelonista Nostra Ensenya, and Supporters Barça - comprising a group of between 500 and 600 fans, that they must pay a total of €21,000 for accumulated fines from incidents last season, with a 15-day deadline for payment.

FC Barcelona had already warned the fan section that this could happen

According to sources related to FC Barcelona, these fan groups were previously warned of the possibility of being responsible for the financial penalties incurred by their actions. Even before the fan section was created, they were made to sign an agreement with rules of conduct that have been repeatedly violated. This has led the club to transfer the fines to these groups.

Furthermore, these groups have been informed on multiple occasions about the possibility of facing these penalties, and they were recently sent a letter informing them of the €21,000 charge. The percentage of the debt, it is worth noting, will be paid by each group based on the number of members they have.

The new warning issued by the blaugrana club to the Espai d'Animació

In addition to these measures, FC Barcelona has issued a serious warning to the Espai d'Animació, clearly stating that in the event of a new incident leading to disciplinary action, the fan section will be closed for the next home match. This notice comes ahead of one of the most emotionally charged matches of the season, the Catalan derby against RCD Espanyol, aiming to prevent racist, xenophobic, or discriminatory behavior.

It is important to remember that this season, FC Barcelona was already sanctioned for a similar incident. During the first match of the UEFA Champions League 2024-25 at the Stade Louis II in Monaco on September 19, a black banner with the message "Flick Heil" (Hail Flick) was displayed, a message bearing some resemblance to the slogans once used to promote Nazism.

This led the UEFA's Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Committee to impose both a €10,000 economic sanction and an organizational sanction, prohibiting the sale of tickets to their fans for the home match against Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League on the upcoming sixth of November. These are indeed the kind of incidents that Barcelona aims to avoid at all costs, thus putting an end to any violent and discriminatory behavior in their fan section.