La Liga President Tebas claims Catalan independence movement harms Barcelona

La Liga President Javier Tebas has claimed that the Catalan independence movement damages the club in terms of their appeal and earning potential.

His views, which were revealed in an RTVE teaser ahead of a wider interview, released a snippet from the interview.

“The independence movement harms them in a sporting sense because it reduces their universal [appeal] among Spanish fans and fans from all over the world, who feel orphaned.”

Barcelona are not formally aligned with Catalan independence as things stand, but under Joan Laporta, who formerly stood as a pro-independence member of parliament, has always ensured a strong evocation of Catalan identity while in power.

Under Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu between his mandates, Barcelona took a far more neutral stance on Catalan identity, as the movement reached its peak support between 2017-19.

Equally, La Liga may find itself hurt by the fact that Tebas openly supports a far-right party in Vox, who have been accused of inhumane and racist policies in the past. Vox are deeply conservative, and anti-immigration, despite the fact that Tebas presides over a league with many of its stars coming from abroad, or indeed, Catalonia.