Fierce attack: Spanish analyst urges Laporta to learn from Real Madrid
Famous Spanish media figure Josep Pedrerol has criticised Barcelona president Joan Laporta for cancelling the ceremony due to be held at the Spotify Camp Nou to honour the Catalan club's players who won the World Cup with La Roja.
Laporta's decision followed the incident in Elche, where police detained a Barcelona fan carrying the Estelada flag, the flag associated with the Catalan separatist movement.
Speaking on El Chiringuito, Pedrerol hit back forcefully at the cancellation and accused the Barcelona president of caving to external pressure.
The newspaper Sport carried Pedrerol's remarks. "This is ridiculous, that the world champions should appear on the pitch the next day as if they were sneaking in," he said.
Historically, Pedrerol has defended Laporta. This time, though, he believes the Barcelona president "was gripped by fear" and acted under the influence of the political climate.
"Joan Laporta yielded to the pressure," he continued. "Laporta has now become a politician."
The presenter stressed that the Barcelona president represents neither the Catalan National Assembly nor any separatist movement. He is the president of all the members who elected him, whether they are separatists or not.
For Pedrerol, Laporta's decision strikes at that unifying character. "Until now Laporta was president of everyone, but he has now become president of some separatist Catalans, of the majority," he said.
Pedrerol drew a direct link between the cancelled tribute and the Elche incident. "After what happened with a Barcelona fan who was carrying the Estelada flag and whom the police detained, Laporta decided there would be no tribute. And for this reason, the world champions will not be able to celebrate Spain's title with the supporters," he said.
He then compared the situation to events at the Santiago Bernabeu, where Marc Cucurella and Mikel Oyarzabal celebrated the World Cup title together in front of Real Madrid's fans.
"How beautiful what happened at the Bernabeu, when Cucurella was celebrating the title and asking Oyarzabal to come closer to celebrate Spain's victory together," Pedrerol said.
He concluded: "When politics enters football, we face a problem."
