2023-06-04 21:14:41
BarcelonaEspanyol said goodbye to the First Division this Sunday, sending an unequivocal and forceful message to the whole world. The white-and-blue club has protested against the arbitrations it has suffered in recent weeks and that have prevented it from reaching the last day with options to fight for permanence, with various forms of protest: flags, banners, mass release of balls, whistles and, above all, a significant and unprecedented gesture in the League that will go around the world: the planting of the players, who have given up playing the first minute of the game.
When Soto Grado blew the whistle to start the game, Braithwaite made the initial serve and passed the ball to Joan García. The players of Espanyol and Almeria remained motionless, as they had agreed before the match. From the stands, while the fans applauded the protest, some spectators threw dozens of tennis balls onto the grass, which the ball collectors were responsible for collecting. This action was repeated in the 23rd minute, when another mass throwing of tennis and beach balls forced the referee to stop the match for a minute, until the turf was cleared. The measure has been accompanied by the black shirts with which the local players had gone out on the pitch and which have also been worn by a large number of fans, especially those in the stands. There, in the Cornellà goal, a banner was displayed with the message “If there is no justice for Espanyol, let there be no peace for the corrupt”. The club also displayed another, in side zone: “Mourning for sports justice.” Several spectators also displayed flags of Taiwan and Tibet, territories that maintain ongoing disputes with mainland China.
From the start of the match, moreover, the loud whistling by dozens of spectators who, using whistles, tried to force the interruption of the match with a sound that could be confused with the whistle of the referee It should be borne in mind that, being the last day of the League, in which all the matches with teams involved in relegation are played at the same time, the break in one of the duels could force the rest to be stopped as well of parties
Before the match and the protests against the referees received, a demonstration was held in the vicinity of the white-and-blue stadium with a banner and chants calling for the resignation of the board chaired by Chen Yansheng and also showing his unrest against Javier Tebas, president of the League, and Jaume Roures, president of Mediapro, the company in charge of producing the images used by the VAR. Espanyol has been relegated to Segona, but has shown that, at a social level, it is still a very lively team.
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