The war between Barça and the Animation Space, on its way to the courts

BarcelonaIt's been three months since Barça decided to close sine die the Animation Space (EDA). More than enough time to show that the positions of both sides, far from coming closer, have grown even further apart. The groups have tried to put popular pressure on the situation to be resolved. The board, however, refuses to speak with them until they pay the 21,000 euros of fines that Barça received last year for the bad behaviour of the fans. With the situation at a standstill, the EDA decided to take action and explore the legal route to achieve its objective, which is none other than to recover the space they occupied one goal away from Montjuïc, and guarantee themselves a seat in the future Camp Nou.

The club has remained inflexible since the Champions League match against Brest. That day Barça issued a statement alleging non-payment of the fine and recalling that the four groups that form part of the EDA – Penya Almogàvers, Nostra Enseña, Supporters Barça and Front 532 – had committed in writing during the summer to pay it if they were asked. She said, therefore, that any reopening implied depositing the 21,000 euros in the club. That same day, according to the version of the members of the EDA, the club contacted her and left the door open to meet and find a solution. Days went by and the meeting did not take place, and the board backed down and went close the door on any type of negotiation if they didn't pay before.

The situation worsened in January. The club renewed the season passes for Montjuïc for all season ticket holders, except for the four groups that are part of the EDA. Therefore, it is not just that the venue has been closed, but that they do not even have the possibility of opting for a season ticket in this second part of the season. Meanwhile, Barça has converted these locations into invitations for fan clubs or entities. With the situation at a standstill, the groups put themselves in the hands of lawyers and began a joint action with the mass sending of emails to the Office of Attention to Barcelonistas (OAB) last week. Barça has not wanted to detail the number of emails sent and the EDA cannot specify its figure, but it is "a few hundred". There are 572 members with a season ticket plus those who attend sporadically.

Complaints tailored to each individual's conditions

Although it was a collective action, complaints had to be made individually. The form was written. There were four depending on the characteristics of each person. Those affected only had to choose according to their situation, modify the text with their personal data and send it to the OAB with a blind copy to their corresponding club and the lawyer handling the case. In all cases, the letter considers the measure of closing the EDA to be "unfair and disproportionate". More specifically, those who were part of this Space since before 2024 complain that their status as subscribers has been withdrawn despite the fact that they have no record of any disciplinary file or procedure having been processed against them specifically. They are therefore demanding that they be given back the proportional part of the eight matches they were unable to attend at Montjuïc and that they be given back the space designated on the pitch for the entertainment groups, while the new season ticket holders for this season argue that they cannot be charged with fines for offences they had not committed. There are two other exceptions. The sporadic ones, who only attend a few matches at the stadium, who limit their letter to a formal protest. And the members who had a season ticket at Camp Nou and exchanged it to become part of the EDA. In this last case, they consider that the club has violated their rights because, with the EDA closed, they understand that they regained their status as season ticket holders, but did not have the opportunity to buy a pass for the second round matches on an individual basis.

The club, which must transferred the case to its legal services, has started to respond to messages this week. The response is adapted to the forms models, but in general terms it insists on speaking of the animation groups "as a collective" and therefore, it claims that "the rights and obligations are not individual, but collective." It reminds the EDA users that, when they registered, "they took advantage of the benefits" but were also "subject to the obligations and consequences derived from possible non-compliance."

"The response is along the same lines as always," say the EDA, which avoids giving more details of the strategy that they will follow from now on, despite the fact that everything is aimed at continuing with the legal route and it is not ruled out that the case ends up in court. "We are receiving the same treatment as the tour operators, without taking into account anything we have done so far," says one of the sources consulted. "We are only criticised for the bad, we have never been recognised for any merit," its members insist.

The new Camp Nou, without the entertainment space we know today

The big question is what will happen at the future Camp Nou. The project included a space reserved for entertainment groups, which will move from the north goal to the south goal for logistical reasons. The club, through vice president Elena Fort, guaranteed that "there will be entertainment" at the new stadium, but did not specify the details. At this point, the only people affected by the EDA who will be able to have a seat in the stadium, on an individual basis, are those who already had a seat at the old Camp Nou and temporarily gave it up to sit with the other groups. In their case, the club guarantees that they will be able to acquire the pass when it goes on sale again from July. The rest have no acquired privileges.

Since the closure of the EDA, In all the matches there has been a noticeable change in the atmosphere at the Blaugrana stadiumThe constant animation has disappeared and some songs that had become classics have stopped being heard, such as A match day. There have also been shouts against the president – "Barça yes, Laporta no" – or calls for the reopening of the EDA – "we want the animation stand" –. At the Barça-Rayo match on Monday, a banner was displayed on the side, just in front of Lluís Companys' presidential box. But the club's security services quickly took it down with the excuse that it was blocking part of the advertising. The attempts by the groups to be seen have generated a division of opinions among the rest of the fans. Some support them, although others have responded to their requests with whistles.