Barcelona scraps tribute to Spain World Cup winners in favor of act supporting Catalan symbol

Barcelona has scrapped its plan to honor Spanish World Cup winners with a tribute before their season-opening match against Athletic Bilbao. The club is instead staging an act supporting Catalonia's pro-independence symbol, the "estelada" flag. Barcelona, which has eight World Cup champions in its squad, intended to recognize them at Camp Nou stadium, but canceled the tribute following an incident involving the flag.

One fan was targeted by police after confronting officers who had taken his estelada flag. The club expressed regret over the confiscation, stating that the estelada flag is a legally endorsed symbol representing freedom of expression. Barcelona deemed the officers' use of force disproportionate and unjustified. The incident drew political attention, with local politicians commenting on the matter.