Barcelona president Joan Laporta criticised over cancelled Spain champions’ Camp Nou celebration

Josep Pedrerol has strongly criticised Joan Laporta after the Barcelona president cancelled a planned ceremony at Spotify Camp Nou to honour the club’s players who won the World Cup with Spain.

The decision followed an incident in Elche in which police detained a Barcelona supporter carrying an Estelada, the flag associated with the Catalan independence movement.

Speaking on El Chiringuito, Spanish television presenter and journalist Pedrerol accused Laporta of giving in to outside pressure and said the cancellation meant the players would be denied the chance to celebrate Spain’s victory with Barcelona supporters.

“This is ridiculous, for the world champions to appear on the pitch the next day as if they were sneaking in,” Pedrerol said, in comments reported by Sport.

Pedrerol, who said he had historically defended Laporta, claimed the Barcelona president had been influenced by the political atmosphere surrounding the incident.

“Joan Laporta gave in to pressure. Laporta has now become a politician,” he added.

The presenter also argued that Laporta’s responsibility was to represent every Barcelona member who elected him, regardless of whether they supported Catalan independence.

He said Laporta was not the representative of the Catalan National Assembly or of any separatist organisation, but the president of the club’s entire membership.

In Pedrerol’s view, cancelling the ceremony damaged that unifying role.

“Until now, Laporta was the president of everyone, but now he has become the president of some Catalan separatists, of the majority,” he said.

Pedrerol directly linked the decision to the events in Elche, where the supporter was detained while carrying the Estelada.

“After what happened with a Barcelona supporter who was carrying an Estelada flag and was detained by the police, Laporta decided there would be no tribute. For that reason, the world champions will not be able to celebrate Spain’s title with the fans,” he said.

The journalist contrasted the decision at Barcelona with a scene at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu, where Marc Cucurella and Mikel Oyarzabal celebrated Spain’s World Cup success together in front of the home crowd.

Cucurella and Oyarzabal were among the Spain players honoured in that celebration, with Pedrerol praising the way the moment brought together members of the national team at Real Madrid’s stadium.

“How beautiful what happened at the Bernabeu was, when Cucurella was celebrating the title and asked Oyarzabal to come closer so they could celebrate Spain’s victory together,” Pedrerol said.

He concluded with a broader warning about the relationship between football and politics.

“When politics enters football, we have a problem,” he said.