"We cannot put the Barça member inside a cage"

BarcelonaHalfway through the Champions League match between Barça and Feyenoord, a Dutch fan showing clear signs of drunkenness urinated into a cup and decided to throw it forward, into the area where Barça supporters were sitting. He only had to get it over a methacrylate fence about three meters high. The complaint, which a member who narrowly avoided being splashed made to the ARA, is not an isolated incident. Neither by a single supporter nor in a single match. For many years, Barça season ticket holders have been reporting problems of incivility that the club will try to resolve – at least partially – once the renovation work on the Camp Nou is finished.

It is a historic malaise that has to do, in part, with UEFA regulations for rival fans. In European competitions, this organization requires that 5% of the stadium's capacity be allocated to visiting supporters, with tickets at affordable prices. At the Barça stadium, there are 3,000 with the current capacity, and the figure will increase to 5,000 once the work is completed. The vast majority do not miss the opportunity to visit Barcelona and the Camp Nou when the draw pairs their club with Barça in the Champions League. It was against Feyenoord, in mid-September, and also this Tuesday (9 p.m., Movistar) against Aston Villa, and in December against Manchester City.

Since always, Barça places these supporters in the upper part of the Camp Nou. "It is unfair to say that everyone does it wrong. The majority behaves. But there are a few who do not and there are always complaints in the end," they admit from the club's offices. They ask the board to relocate the rival fans to avoid these throwing of objects or other inappropriate attitudes. However, Barça will not do it and is looking for alternatives, which range from a giant net to a grilled ceiling, similar to what there is in many school playgrounds to prevent balls from going into the street.

If Barça keeps the rival fans at the very top it is for monetary reasons. With price caps in place, it prefers to make money with the seats closest to the pitch and leave the ones of lower value for the outsiders. As a rule, alcohol cannot be sold at the Camp Nou. What happens is that many arrive there, as it is vulgarly said, carrying more in their head than on their feet. The Mossos perform a first filter at the entrances, but apart from flagrant cases, there is little more they can do except check that no one carries dangerous objects when entering the stadium.

What happens in Barcelona is not exclusive. In many other stadiums, almost the same thing happens. The difference is that Barça is resigned to having a fixed space, closed permanently, to minimize this lack of civility. "We cannot put the member inside a cage," they reason from Aristides Maillol, to justify why the rival fans' space expands or shrinks depending on the match. With the works finished, and with the fans in the 3rd tier, in a Champions League duel the rival space will start behind the goal and stretch almost to the middle of the pitch. But in the League, with 200 or 300 visiting followers at most, a small space in one of the goals is enough. The rest of the seats, either for season ticket holders or for sale at ticket offices at a normal price.

A pole the size of a competition sailboat

Therefore, additional measures must be sought. One measure would be a grid that acts as a roof. But the one that seems most attractive to those responsible for Espai Barça is the installation of a net that can be raised to avoid the dreaded throwing of objects. However, this has to be assembled and disassembled for every match, and it is not easy because, according to initial calculations, sixteen-meter-high poles would be necessary. More or less, the size of competition sailboats. "We have to think about how to make it possible in a matter of hours," they maintain at the club. For now, they have already received the first samples of what this grid would be like, made of fine and relatively lightweight steel, which would cover a total of 2,000 square meters.

In parallel, Barça will have a total of 700 cameras at the Camp Nou, of which 420 will be for security. They will be used to detect uncivil behavior and to be able to identify the perpetrators. The images will be at the disposal of the Mossos and, subsequently, it will be the club, UEFA, or the ordinary justice system that will apply the corresponding punishment. "We can apply many measures, but we need everyone's coordination to be stricter with these behaviors. If not, a day may come when we cannot admit the rival fans," they warn at the club.