Barca back Catalan independence referendum

Posted Saturday, October 11, 2014 by Marca.com

Barca have clambered aboard the Catalan government's campaign to hold a referendum on independence on 9th November.

Catalan radio show El Mon a RAC1 broke the news that Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu had sent a letter to politician Joan Rigol stressing the club's support for the National Pact for the Right to Decide movement.

This movement brings together over 3,500 organisations and associations that endorse the Catalan people's right to self-determination.

"A year ago, Barcelona FC voiced its support for the right to decide through the words of its then president [Sandro Rosell] to the Assembly of Club Delegates", Bartomeu is quoted as saying in the letter.

"Despite the solemnity of those remarks, which we felt made sufficiently plain our stance with regards to the process underway among the Catalan people, I would like to reiterate our support for the Pact", the 'Azulgranas' supremo goes on to say.

The news follows the club's earlier reluctance to publicly come out in support of the movement, evidenced by a statement after the Monday board meeting claiming that Barca were unwilling to take a stand on such a "sensitive issue". This in turn led a group of fans to launch a petition urging the club to reconsider.

Rigol, who is the leader of the Pact movement, responded to Bartomeu's letter and thanked Barca for showing "their commitment to the concerns and aspirations of the majority of Catalan society".