ELCHE, Spain – National Police officers forcefully charged against FC Barcelona fans who attempted to enter the stadium with an estelada flag during the prelude to the LaLiga 2026-2027 match between Elche and Barça, held on Sunday at the Martínez Valero stadium in the Valencian city. A video circulated on social media by an Elche supporter shows police officers snatching an estelada flag from a young man and ejecting him from the queue along with another supporter, with the ejected individuals offering resistance and the uniformed officers then charging with batons.
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One of the fans was eventually subdued on the ground by an officer, while other Barça supporters confronted the police, leading to the handcuffed arrest of the fan who had been subdued. The images have prompted pro-independence parties to denounce police abuse by the National Police and demand explanations from the government, particularly the Interior Ministry, as well as the initiation of an investigation into the matter.
The incident has reignited debates over the display of pro-independence symbols at sporting events in Spain, where the estelada flag remains a highly charged political symbol in Catalonia’s independence movement. The Spanish government has not yet issued an official response to the events, though calls for transparency and accountability are likely to intensify in the coming days. The match proceeded as scheduled, though the pre-game confrontation has overshadowed the sporting contest and drawn attention to ongoing tensions between Catalan nationalists and state authorities.
