La Liga (the Spanish league) is host to a few intense rivalries. One of them is the Derbi de Barcelona. This is a rivalry between FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol de Barcelona, two clubs with a historic rivalry that goes beyond the football stadiums.
There were no sunshines and rainbows this past Thursday when the two sides met at RCDE Stadium, Espanyol's home ground. It wasn't what happened on the pitch that had people talking but rather what happened outside the stadium. Fans were clashing and the match had to be stopped entirely while the police calmed things down.
A tragic incident dampened the festive atmosphere ahead of the Catalan derby between RCD Espanyol and FC Barcelona, when a car ran into a group of fans near the RCDE Stadium. The accident happened around 3:00 p.m. ET (9:00 p.m. local time in Spain), just half an hour before kickoff.
According to initial reports, a woman driving a white Peugeot 308 lost control of the vehicle in an area where many Espanyol supporters were gathered; awaiting the arrival of the team bus. The car struck a young female fan of the home side, trapping her underneath. As bystanders rushed in to help, the vehicle suddenly accelerated again, hitting even more people.
Authorities reported that at least ten people were injured, though fortunately, all suffered only minor injuries. Seven ambulances were dispatched to the scene to assist the victims, while the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) launched an investigation to clarify what happened. At this stage, they are treating it as an accident, with no signs of intent or links to criminal activity.
An initial statement from Catalan police read, as the game in question was cleared to continue: "Several people were injured near Espanyol Stadium after being struck by a vehicle. The situation is under control and in no way poses a risk to anyone inside the stadium."
Security forces went on to state that a female driver had lost control of her vehicle after being surrounded by fans. Toni Castejon, spokesperson for Fepol of the Mossos d'Esquadra, stated that: "The incident was very serious, but (the driver) panicked because of those attacks on the car, and when someone panics, you never know how they'll react."
Despite the chaos caused by the incident, the match kicked off on time at 3:30 p.m. ET, although the atmosphere was clearly affected. Over the stadium’s loudspeakers, officials urged fans to remain calm and assured them that the situation was under control.
After the match had begun an announcement was made inside the stadium saying the crash situation was, "under control" and that there were, "no serious injuries."
Espanyol fans were seen leaving their seats during the La Liga clash against Barcelona after a major incident occurred outside their stadium.
Minutes prior to kick-off, a video posted to social media showed a car running over a group of spectators outside the RCDE Stadium. The match itself kicked off but was briefly halted on eight minutes as referee, Cesar Soto Grado, communicated with both sets of technical staff and police.
TV Sport's Guillem Balague subsequently reported during half-time that, out of the 13 injuries suffered, four people had suffered serious injuries. Marca report that Spanish police were working 'on the hypothesis' that the driver of the car 'lost control and it was an accident'.
The Catalan emergency medical services said on X that 13 people had sustained injuries, none of them serious.
Espanyol fans made their feelings clear on the match being restarted. Large groups of supporters had noticeably left their seats, with sections of the stadium visibly empty when TV cameras panned over to them.
Sport claims that fans had initially demanded that the match be called off due to the major incident and had showed their displeasure while leaving the stadium.
Prior to the stoppage, Espanyol goalkeeper, Joan Garcia, was seen in communication with home supporters behind the goal, before he and another player gestured towards referee Soto Grado to halt the match.
After discussions with police, the match resumed two minutes later and continued to full-time, with Barcelona winning, 2-0. In winning the match, Barcelona secured the La Liga title for the 2024/25 season.
The victory comes two years and one day on from when Barcelona did exactly the same thing to win the title at the RCDE Stadium in 2023. Barca stars celebrated on the pitch that day but were quickly chased off by Espanyol hooligans that tried to attack them.
Current boss, Hansi Flick, didn't want the same to happen again and immediately gestured for his players to return to the dressing room as the full-time whistle went. Yet, many ignored their manager and several substitutes sprinted onto the field to celebrate.
It infuriated Espanyol players and there was an altercation as Gerard Martin appeared to push Pere Milla to the floor. Then, as Ronaldo Araujo and Jules Kounde joined Flick in appealing for calm, the sprinklers were turned on to encourage Barca players off the pitch.
Though it did not work as Alejandro Balde, Pau Victor, Andreas Christensen and Dani Olmo were just some seen dancing underneath the unwanted shower.
Meanwhile, Flick was spotted angrily pushing his coaches and players down the tunnel. No Espanyol fans made it onto the pitch as riot police stood in the way of their ultras behind the goal. Many of them were not in their seats for the game in protest as they wanted the match cancelled.
In a further update, Salvador Illa, President of the Generalitat (Catalan government), told Movistar: "It was an accident, there were some injuries, none serious, fortunately. The security and assistance services reacted quickly, and the spokesperson for the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) has provided explanations to various media outlets, as far as I know, and therefore, there is no major incident to regret."
It's sort of hard to criticise everything. It seems that the catalyst was a pure accident. It's hard to blame the driver. Yes, she lost control but that only happened because of the fans. Being surrounded by people can cause some people to panic. It can be impossible to think straight when your mind is being occupied with a cloudy mindset.
I believe that the actions of the officials was a correct one. The important thing about a football match is the safety of the fans and spectators. I do also believe that Espanyol was displaying a sign of sour grapes by putting on the sprinklers. Despite the rivalry, Espanyol should've put it aside and congratulate Barcelona on their title win.