“The blow of Barcelona”: a dramatic morning in Catalonia

Who would have believed that one of the most glorious clubs in world football would provide one of the greatest farces seen in all of history. A particularly dramatic morning passes over the whole of Catalonia, this of course after the president of Barcelona and a number of other management members of the club were arrested following the “Barça-Gate” affair.

As you may recall, as early as yesterday afternoon, the Barcelona police raided the club’s offices, when Joseph Maria Martomeo, was arrested and spent the night in custody. According to reports in Catalonia, the outgoing president, who is suspected of hiring companies that set up fictitious Facebook accounts in order to harm people from the club as well as players, is expected to appear before a judge during the day.

Joseph Maria Bartomeu (Reuters)

Meanwhile, newspaper headlines in Catalonia heralded a particularly dramatic morning. In “Sport” “The blow of Barcelona”, while in “Mundo Deportivo” they chose a slightly more informative title: “Bartomeu was arrested!”. According to reports in the Catalan media, Bartomeu and Oscar Grau, Robin Gomes Ponti and Juma Masperrer, chose not to testify at the police station, with the lawyers in the case claiming that the detainees “have nothing to hide. They are quite calm. “