“La Liga has underestimated our fans” – Supporters fume at Barça stadium debacle

On Tuesday, it was confirmed that this weekend’s match between Barcelona and Valencia will not be at the Spotify Camp Nou – instead, it will take place at the Estadi Johan Cruyff, which has sparked debate among Spanish football enthusiasts.

And for Valencia fans in particular, there is a lot of anger about the matter – not only because of the late decision, but also due to the fact that the Estadi Johan Cruyff also has a 6,000 capacity, which will mean the number of Los Che supporters will be significantly reduced – if any at all are allowed to go.

The decision-making process has now been severely criticised by the Association of Valencian Supporters’ Clubs, who have published a statement regarding their feelings on the matter, as per Diario AS.

“The Association of Valencian Supporters’ Clubs wants to state that it considers it regrettable that it has been decided 5 days before a first division match is played, and to play it in a stadium that does not comply with the statutes of the league where it is indicated that in La Liga that it is mandatory that the capacity of the stadiums has to be a minimum of 15,000 seats, and it is going to be played in one with 6,000.

“In the same way we consider that again the fans are not taken into account, both in the organisation of their trips in advance and in the access to tickets for that match. La Liga has underestimated our fans and not a little, always benefiting them and we are fed up with the differences in criteria with some teams and others.”

Valencia have contacted Barcelona to gauge whether they can sell tickets to their supporters for Sunday’s match, for which they have yet to receive a response. But given that only 6,000 fans are able to attend across both clubs, it is far from certain that Los Che will receive a positive response.