Barcelona fans remain at loggerheads with the club's hierarchy, with supporters clubs refusing to pick up the €21,000 that the Blaugrana have been handed for offensive chanting.
Barcelona were hit with the fine earlier in the season in relation to a reported 14 different incidents at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium. The offensive behaviour has reportedly been a frequent occurrence ever since the club temporarily moved to Montjuic while Camp Nou renovations continue.
Instead of paying the fine themselves, the club's hierarchy have insisted that those who are based in the stadium's singing section, where the incidents occurred, should pay it.
Four different supporters groups make up the singing singing section with Almogavers, Front 532, Nostra Ensneya and Supporters Barca all playing their part in helping to replicate the Camp Nou atmosphere at the Olympic Stadium. However, all four groups are steadfast in their refusal to pay the fine.
Barcelona to keep the singing section shut indefinitely
With the supporters groups refusing to pay the fine, Barcelona have responded by shutting the singing section indefinitely.
According to reports in Spain, the club won't even consider re-opening this section until the fine is paid and there are now discussions taking place around what the singing section will look like at the Camp Nou, in light of the ongoing feud.
According to a report in Catalan Daily, Barcelona believe that the supporters in the singing section are repeat offenders and want to cut the cycle of fines. They are now rethinking the ‘role and function' of the singing section and going without one altogether is a real possibility when Barcelona move back to Camp Nou.
The argument from the supporters groups is that if there are repeat offenders within the singing section then those individuals should be forced to pay the fine and face a stadium ban rather than the club punishing everyone.
#Barca are not fazed by the idea of banning the traditional singing section for the rest of the season.
The same members will be able to buy tickets, but they will not have their area of the ground reserved for them, as the dispute over fines continues. pic.twitter.com/VpjmPZ8ZIX
— Football España (@footballespana_) December 18, 2024
A cynical view on the banned supporters
There are plenty of cynics in Catalonia who believe that the decision to indefinitely close the singing section is because the club's president, Joan Laporta, wants to put an end to chants calling for him to leave.
Over the past year, Barcelona fans have made it very clear they don't want Laporta to continue as president and with an election coming up in 18 months, Laporta could be keen to silence the loudest of these fans.
FGG says: A blanket ban is a farce
Cutting out offensive chanting is clearly an important issue to tackle but the way Barcelona are going about it feels counter-productive. With modern technology, it shouldn't be difficult to be able to pinpoint the main culprits and removing them from the stadium would be a far more logical solution than enforcing a blanket ban on thousands of loyal Barcelona fans.
While Laporta may not like the chants against him, trying to silence these voices is unlikely to help him in the long run.