Barcelona did not honor its players who were part of Spain's World Cup-winning team during its first home game of the season due to an incident involving the 'estelada' flag, a symbol of Catalonia's pro-independence movement. Instead, a local group organized an event at Camp Nou, distributing approximately 10,000 estelada flags to fans before the match against Athletic Bilbao. Fans displayed these flags during the club's anthem, and thousands marched with the flags near the stadium prior to the game, according to local media reports.
Barcelona has eight World Cup champions in its squad, the highest number of any club, and had initially planned a tribute for them. Other Spanish clubs, in collaboration with the Spanish soccer federation, held tributes that included displaying the World Cup trophy and featuring Spain's coach, Luis de la Fuente.
The club decided against the tribute following an incident where police confiscated an estelada flag from a fan during a previous match against Elche. The fan confronted the police, who reportedly used batons and detained him. Barcelona expressed regret over the confiscation, stating that the estelada is a legally recognized symbol and its display is a legitimate exercise of freedom of expression. The club criticized the police's actions as disproportionate and lacking justification.
The situation escalated politically, with local politicians commenting on the incident. A Catalan organization distributed the flags outside Camp Nou before the match. Barcelona's president, Joan Laporta, emphasized the peaceful nature of the event supporting the estelada, which he described as representing the Catalans' right to freedom of expression. He noted that it was not the right time for a tribute to the Spanish players, stating that soccer should unite rather than create divisions. Laporta mentioned that the Spanish football federation understood the club's stance.
The eight Barcelona players who contributed to Spain's World Cup victory last month are Joan García, Eric García, Pedri, Pau Cubarsí, Gavi, Rodri, Dani Olmo, and Lamine Yamal.