Barcelona will kick off 2026 with a sport worthy of headlining the beginning of the brand new 12 months – the Catalan derby.
Video games between Barcelona and Espanyol have been extremely heated lately, with one very vivid reminiscence being that of the Blaugrana profitable La Liga on the RCDE Stadium and the entry of followers onto the sector to cease celebrations.
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The same scenario additionally unfolded final 12 months, and one additionally remembers how a girl ran over a crowd of Espanyol followers within the final derby performed at Cornella.
A high-risk sport
As relayed by in a current report, the sport between Barcelona and Espanyol scheduled for January third has been labelled a high-risk sport by the Everlasting Fee of the State Fee in opposition to Violence, Racism, Xenophobia and Intolerance in Sport.
One explicit issue that aggravates the potential of unrest on the evening is the switch of Joan Garcia to Barcelona in the summertime and the way Espanyol had been fuming with the goalkeeper’s choice to signal for his or her arch-rivals.
Joan Garcia will face Espanyol subsequent month. (Photograph by Mike Hewitt/Getty Photos)
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He’ll return to the sector, seemingly as a starter, in opposition to Espanyol on the evening and it’s clear that there’s a want for very stringent safety.
Espanyol shall be required to strengthen safety in sure areas of the sector on the evening and there may even be extra safety measures within the ticket gross sales system, together with exhaustive entry management.
Additional, there’s anticipated to be a ban on carrying the Barcelona brand or crest into the RCDE Stadium on the evening to stop any unrest.
The Blaugrana, for his or her half, shall be seeking to take all three factors on the venue to proceed within the league. It’s going to, nonetheless, be something however simple provided that Espanyol have additionally loved a nice begin to their season.
