Barcelona scraps tribute to Spain World Cup winners in favor of act supporting Catalan symbol
Barcelona has canceled its planned tribute to Spain's World Cup champions after a fan wearing an "estelada" flag, Catalonia's pro-independence symbol, was detained by police. Instead, a local group organized an act supporting the estelada at Camp Nou stadium, where around 10,000 fans received small flags before the match. Barcelona has eight World Cup champions on its roster, the most of any club.
The club's president, Joan Laporta, stated that the estelada is a legally endorsed symbol representing the Catalans' freedom of expression and emphasized that soccer should unite, not generate confrontations.
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