Josep Maria Bartomeu remains president of Barça. This Monday, the president of FC Barcelona and his board agreed not to resign from the helm of the football club. At least until Wednesday, when the Procicat, the civil protection committee which takes public health-related decisions in Catalonia during the pandemic, is due to give its verdict on whether the no-confidence vote against the president can be carried out as planned on 1st and 2nd November at a single voting location, the Camp Nou stadium.
Bartomeu, who has been completely embattled for the last few months after the Catalan club's severe decline in both sporting results and management image, had two options: step aside and leave his chair, or continue holding on. He has chosen the latter. The president has tried every possible means to suspend the vote - also using the coronavirus situation in Catalonia as justification for a delay - and asked the Catalan government by letter if the vote can be safely held in the current context. The Catalan vice president, Pere Aragonès, passed the request on to the health and interior ministries so that they, the key authorities on the Procicat committee, will be the ones making the decision on the vote. If they say the no-confidence vote can he held in a few days time, Bartomeu's hours could be numbered.
Still playing for time
Despite the reported emergence of dissenting voices on the board itself this Monday, Bartomeu continues to play for time and his only hope, for now, is that the situation of the pandemic in Catalonia will prevent the referendum from being held. The no-confidence motion arose at the end of summer following the club's cynical decision to hold on to an unhappy Leo Messi, despite his wish to leave. The president had already called elections for a new board - but not until March next year. But after the Messi affair, the no-confidence initiative took root, a process which under club rules, first required support and signatures from 16,521 club members. These were obtained, although the president accused supporters of the motion of falsifying signatures to try to invalidate the so-called 'More than a motion'. Later, the president also tried to postpone the vote until November 15th and 16th, alleging that "the club needs 15 or 20 days to organize itself logistically."
Avoiding questions, accusing the government
At the press conference after Monday's board meeting, Bartomeu addressed the media with just one goal: to convey a false sense of normality within the club. He claims the only problem with holding the no-confidence vote is that the board needs two weeks to be able to organize a decentralized referendum to adapt to the pandemic situation.
"We have always wanted to have a decentralized vote, we wanted to bring the polls closer to the members. The more people vote, the bigger the club. We have always said that it took 15 days for logistical reasons, but the surprise came when last Thursday the government confirmed to us that the vote should take place on November 1st and 2nd," he said.
Bartomeu asserted that the process since the motion gained its quorum has been "exemplary" and denied that the club has tried to put obstacles in the way of the vote being held. "We have the utmost respect for the members who promoted the no-confidence vote. It isn't the first time in the club's history this has happened", he stressed.
In any case, the president did not reveal whether he will resign if the Procicat says that the vote should be held on 1st and 2nd November as planned. "We will call the board together and make decisions. It is in our interest that the process of the motion be carried through," he said. The revealing response, however, came later: "There is no reason to resign."
In fact, Bartomeu went on the attack against the Catalan government when he was asked if the political leaders are trying to get the vote of censure carried out to expel him from the Camp Nou. "I would like to think that's not true. We have always wanted to save the club from political and media powers, and keep it for the members", he said ironically.
Asked why the board had not prepared the referendum in advance and now has to ask for fifteen more days, the president argued that it was simply because the protocol presented previously for the election "has been modified" by the Catalan government.