Barcelona to start new season behind closed doors against Getafe
Barcelona to start the new season behind closed doors against Getafe. The new season of LaLiga will kick-off on 13th August.
The Catalan club will start their 2023/24 campaign behind closed doors on matchday one against Getafe. Moreover, the Blaugrana club may have got the perfect start to the season, as they won’t have to face the hostile Getafe crowd.
The Sanction took place almost four years ago, in 2019 against Tenerife, which saw the fans throwing seats and smoke cans from the stands.
The Supreme Court has now taken action and said that Getafe will serve a one-match ban, and there will be no fans in the stadium, which will come into effect against Barcelona.
Getafe’s stadium ban incident
Getafe player Sergio Mora was subject to different chants of ‘assassin’ and ‘F*** Getafe’ around the Estadio Coliseum Alfonso Perez. A smoke bomb was also released by the fans during the stoppage time.
Moreover, after that, the Getafe fans invaded the pitch after the final whistle. They also threw seats to prevent the referees and opposition team from reaching their dressing room.
After the incident, Getafe were issued a ban, but later it was replaced by a €18K fine. However, the Anti-Violence Committee appealed that decision and ultimately caused the ban to fall on the first day of this coming campaign.
Barcelona to begin their title defence behind closed doors
Barcelona’s title defence will start without a crowd which will also be strange for the LaLiga champions.
The Catalan giants faced Getafe back in April this year, which ended in a 0-0 draw. Barca coach Xavi complained about the pitch kick-off time, and weather at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez.
Last season, when they won the league title in Espanyol, they suffered a similar kind of incident that happened in Getafe. The Espanyol fans were not happy that their rivals were celebrating after winning the league title.
A large group of Espanyol ultras invaded the pitch to halt the Catalan’s celebration. The fans were then stopped by the security guards.
