Nou Camp may be temporarily closed if fans found guilty of insulting chants
Barcelona's Nou Camp stadium could be temporarily closed if supporters are found guilty of using insulting chants about Spain, LaLiga president Javier Tebas has warned.
Speaking at an event in Seville today, Tebas confirmed that pro-Catalonia independence gestures were not a punishable act but said that offensive chants about the likes of Spain and its regions could be.
Tebas said in quotes reported by El Mundo Deportivo: "Chants about independence, right now, are not considered an insult nor inciting violence. But shouts such as 'f****** Spain', 'f****** Catalonia', 'f****** Andalusia' or similar have been denounced.
"If the Competition Committee (of the Spanish Football Federation) decide that a chant is cause for punishment, and the Administrative Court ratify that it is a punishable offence, then there are various potential sanctions, and could include closing the Nou Camp."
Barcelona have already played one game behind closed doors at the Nou Camp this season, the 3-0 win over Las Palmas on October 1.
However, Barca took that decision themselves after their request for the match to be postponed amid local unrest during the Catalonia independence referendum was rejected by LaLiga.
Hundreds of people were injured in clashes with police across the region on that day as the people of Catalonia voted in a referendum which had been declared illegal by the Spanish government.
