Barça to close singing section due to unpaid fines
Barcelona will close a section behind the goal at the Olympic Stadium “indefinitely,” starting against Brest on Tuesday, due to a dispute with supporters’ groups over unpaid fines, the club have announced.
Barça say an agreement with the groups that make up the Espai d’Animació (EDA) — the singing section in the North Goal stand — to pay any fines resulting from their behaviour has not been fulfilled.
Sources told ESPN the total amount outstanding is around €21,000 ($22,092).
“Given the agreements signed between the club and the supporters’ groups, the club, after repeated warnings, initiated the process to recover the money owed for sanctions imposed for [the fans’] behaviour last season,” Barça said in a statement.
“This behaviour resulted in 14 disciplinary proceedings for violations of the current regulations in this section of the stadium. During this process, the supporters’ groups have been granted three separate deadlines to fulfil their obligations. The last one expired on Monday at midnight.
“As the different groups have now been informed, having failed to comply with their obligations, the club will close the EDA indefinitely. The club reiterates its willingness to engage with the groups in question to discuss the EDA’s situation once they have met their obligations.”
The ban will begin on Tuesday, when Barça host Brest in the Champions League at the Olympic Stadium. The Catalan side are at home again on Saturday when they play Las Palmas in LaLiga.
ESPN has approached the EDA for comment.
The EDA occupy a section behind one of the goals at the stadium — where Barça are playing temporarily while Camp Nou is regenerated — which is made up of around 600 seats.
Barça say the EDA’s “mission is to create an atmosphere of support for the team that encourages the rest of the public to join in from the first minute of every game.”
