Barcelona cancels tribute to Spain's World Cup winners for Catalan flag event
Yahoo Sports • 1 min read • Latest: Aug 27, 2026, 3:35 PM
Last updated Aug 27, 2026
Barcelona has opted not to honor its players who won the World Cup with Spain at their first home game of the LaLiga season against Athletic Bilbao on Thursday. This decision follows an incident where police confiscated the 'estelada' flag from a fan during a recent match. Instead of the planned tribute, the club will support the display of the Catalan flag by distributing 10,000 flags to fans at Camp Nou. Barcelona's president Joan Laporta emphasized the importance of freedom of expression and stated the situation was not conducive to honoring the Spain players. The absence of the tribute contrasts with other Spanish clubs that paid homage to their World Cup champions. The match is set to take place soon in Barcelona.
- •Barcelona will not honor eight players who won the World Cup with Spain.
- •The decision follows a police incident regarding the 'estelada' flag.
- •10,000 flags will be distributed to fans at Camp Nou.
- •The match against Athletic Bilbao is scheduled for Thursday.
- •Barcelona president supports the freedom of expression related to the flag.
- 3:35 PMYahoo Sports — Barcelona scraps tribute to Spain World Cup winners in favor of act supporting Catalan symbol
"Barcelona's World Cup winners with Spain will not be honored by the club at its first home game of the season on Thursday because of an incident involving the “estelada” flag, Catalonia's pro-independence symbol. Instead, an act supporting the estelada was expected to take place at Camp Nou stadium, with some 10,000 flags given to fans. Barcelona has eight World Cup champions in its squad, the most of any club, and it planned a tribute to them before its Spanish league home opener against Athletic Bilbao.
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