Will the police confiscate the Esteladas (flags) at the Copa del Rey final?

MadridLike so many other Barça fans, Ricard will wear the Estelada flag to this Saturday's Copa del Rey final in Seville against Real Madrid. "I'll keep it well hidden," he told ARA, aware of the precedents in this type of match. The Madrid Metropolitan Stadium in 2018. At the height of the Trial, private security even took yellow flags from Barcelona fans. What will the Barça fans find at La Cartuja? Neither the Ministry of the Interior nor the National Police have confirmed how the stadium entrances and stands will be handled. But the Jupol union also agrees that the pro-independence flag is prohibited at an event like this. Who makes the decision? The Spanish government in Andalusia. Sources familiar with these types of operations explain to ARA that it is the Spanish police that instructs the private security company on how to act. The National Police would only intervene in the event of an altercation. "It's internalized. No special instruction is required, and everyone knows what symbols are prohibited," say sources at Jupol.

What does the law say?

Private security and police forces are governed by a 2007 law "against violence, racism, xenophobia, and intolerance in sports." This law leaves a wide margin of interpretation when considering which symbols are permitted and which are not. "Symbols or other signs with messages that incite violence or by virtue of which a person or group is threatened, insulted, or harassed because of their racial or ethnic origin, their religion or beliefs, their disability, age, sex, sexual orientation or identity, gender expression, or characteristics of the typology and public order at sporting events" are a pretext under which to broaden what can constitute a disturbance of public order. "The law is very restrictive," say police sources.

A few days ago The World The Junts parliamentary question to the Ministry of the Interior regarding the removal of an estelada from a Girona fan at Valencia's stadium last September was echoed. "The police action was based on current regulations," read the very brief response from Fernando Grande-Marlaska's department, and mentioned this law. Ministry sources consulted by ARA point out that when interpreting the regulation, the "circumstances" of the incident are assessed. They recall that the regulation takes into account the "content" and the "circumstances" in which symbols are displayed that "in some way incite, encourage, or assist in the commission of violent or terrorist behavior or constitute an act of manifest contempt for people." In this regard, Marlaska's team emphasizes that at Barça's stadium "esteladas are not routinely removed." "Circumstances must exist that recommend their occasional removal," they add.

A sentence

All police sources consulted by ARA, including those from the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police), believe that an estelada (flag of the Spanish flag) violates the law at a match like Saturday's, given the context and the opponent. "You can't enter the Camp Nou wearing an Espanyol shirt," one of the sources consulted also cites as an example, given the obvious risk that it could cause a conflict. However, the police consensus contrasts with a July 2017 court ruling from the Madrid Administrative Court, which ruled in favor of a Barça fan who claimed that the removal of an estelada (flag of the Spanish flag) at the Copa del Rey final on May 22 of that year at the Vicente Calderón stadium in Madrid was contrary to fundamental rights. "The display of the Estelada cannot be considered likely to provoke or generate violence, racism, xenophobia, or intolerance in sports. It is a simple manifestation of ideological freedom and the right to freely disseminate thoughts, ideas, and opinions," ruled Judge Jesús Torres. On that occasion, there was an explicit order to the security forces not to allow "any political propaganda material" that generates "political controversy," and they were to be confiscated. On Saturday, just in case, many Barça fans will be wearing the Estelada hidden.