The Royal Spanish Football Federation's Competition Committee has imposed a fine of €1,500 (£1,300; $1,700) on Barça and cautioned the potential temporary closure of its stadium, Camp Nou, for the disturbance during their match against Real Madrid this Wednesday. During the game, Catalan protest platform Tsunami Democràtic threw yellow balls reading "Spain, sit and talk" onto the pitch.
The committee bases its decision on article 101.2 of the federation's disciplinary code. That article says: "The throwing of balls or any other object onto the playing field from the stands, independent of whether the match is paused or not, will be considered a grave infraction and sanctioned with a fine of 3,000 euros and a caution of closure."
Referee Alejandro Hernández Hernández wrote that "at minute 55, the match was held up for one minute and thirty seconds over the throwing, by the public, of balls onto the pitch."
In sporting terms, the committee also agreed to hand a one-match ban to Madrid's Casemiro for the yellow cards his has accumulated.
Partial fail
Although it hasn't helped Barça, it's true that Tsunami Democràtic wasn't as effective in its action as it was hoping. They had planned to display banners hanging from drones within the stadium. That plan didn't work out, they say, due to the intervention of the police.
Photo: Mireia Comas