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For the second consecutive year, "Barcelona", the winner of "La Liga", has the opportunity on May 22 to defend the King's Cup won last year. Luis Enrique's team will try their luck at the Madrid "Vicente Calderon" stadium in a duel with "Sevilla".
At the beginning of the week, the representative of the central government of Spain in the Madrid region, Maria Concepcion Dancausa, announced that it would be forbidden to bring and display the so-called Estelada flags to the stadium - these are flags of Catalonia with red and yellow stripes and a star in a blue or yellow triangle.
Supporters of Catalonia's independence, who wave these flags not only at the King's Cup matches but also during Spain's national championships and Champions League games, are particularly fond of such symbols.
"Both sports in general and football, which is one of the sports, should not become an arena for political confrontation," argued M. Concepcion Dancausa for the ban.
Such a decision by the central government of Spain did not go unnoticed in Catalonia, and "Barcelona" expressed concern about restrictions on human rights and freedom of speech.
"Barcelona" has always defended and intends to continue defending the rights of all people to freely express their opinions and beliefs. This also applies to the club's fans, who demonstrate proper behavior and respect for others in the stadium stands. We believe that such a ban by the central government of Spain could be likened to an attempt to restrict freedom of speech and the natural rights to express one's beliefs", said the official statement from the Catalan club.
fcbarcelona.lt
