Since the revelation of the facts, sanctions were expected. They fell. In a press release published this Friday relating to the Nazi salutes affair, FC Barcelona announced that “the club’s disciplinary committee has decided to suspend the status of socios of the people arrested by the French police during the quarter-final first leg of the Champions League against PSG in Paris on April 10. A third fan, member of a group of supporters, was “denied access to FC Barcelona tickets for events organized at home and away”.
“The FC Barcelona disciplinary committee considers that the facts reported by the French police are “very serious” and, therefore, this suspension will be immediate and will last until the conclusion of the internal investigation, which may last until three months from the opening of the case,” the press release specifies.
FC Barcelona is, in particular, liable to a UEFA sanction of up to 25,000 euros. The Catalan club repeats “condemn all forms of discrimination and reiterates its commitment to the fight against discrimination”.
At the same time as FC Barcelona’s victory against Paris Saint-Germain (2-3), Catalan supporters were filmed insulting Parisian fans as “monkeys”. On the video, which was circulating on social networks, a young boy in the Barcelona stand gave the fingers of honor towards the Parisians. He also imitated the monkey and insulted them. In front of him, another FC Barcelona fan made what strongly resembled Nazi salutes.