Several Catalan political parties, such as Junts or Esquerra, and the Football Club Barcelona demanded explanations from the Government this Monday after the incidents recorded on Sunday during the match between Elche and Barça. National Police officers removed the estelades flags carried by some attendees at the debut of the Catalan team held in the Valencian town, and, according to images shared on social media, they struck a young fan who was displaying one. The Ministry of the Interior has ordered the opening of a confidential inquiry to review the proportionality of the action.
“These animals must pay for this abuse and mistreatment,” wrote the Junts leader in Madrid, Míriam Nogueras, on X, attaching a video showing how officers take the independence flags from a young fan, whom they hit with a baton as he tries to defend himself. Nogueras also invited people to provide more information about the case. The former president and Junts leader, Carles Puigdemont, also joined the controversy and in a message on X described what happened as “intolerable” and an exercise of “structural rejection of Catalan identity.”
If anyone who was there has information, ALL of it, please send it to us. These animals must pay for this abuse and mistreatment. pic.twitter.com/HZU34MxdMT
— Miriam Nogueras 🎗 (@miriamnoguerasM) August 24, 2026
Subsequently, Junts announced that it will take the case to Congress. In a series of questions addressed to the Ministry of the Interior, they ask to clarify on what legal basis the flags were ordered to be removed and whether their display is considered a “prohibited or punishable conduct.” The party recalls that Law 19/2007 does not prohibit the mere display of an estelada, but reserves restrictions for symbols that incite violence or terrorism.
Police sources consulted on the matter admit that the law does not prohibit bringing flags into stadiums, but also emphasize that officers can remove them if they consider that, under certain circumstances, their display may lead to altercations with fans of the opposing team. The Interior Ministry, through the Superior Headquarters of the Valencian Community, has ordered an internal investigation to clarify whether the police action was correct.
Interior thus responds to one of the demands of the independence parties. Like Junts, ERC had also called for an immediate investigation following images they consider “cause for concern.” For the Republicans, who want a hearing with Fernando Grande-Marlaska, the proportionality of the police operation is in question.
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Both the CUP – without representation in Congress – and Comuns have also expressed their displeasure over the “disproportionality” of the police action before the match in which Barça defeated Elche 5-0. In a statement, the team says that the arrest of one of its fans was “disproportionate” and “lacking the necessary consistency and timeliness in the use of force.” Regarding the flags, the team has defended that it is a “legal symbol.”
Insults to the police
Police sources explained that the incident occurred when officers from the Police Intervention Unit (UIP, the so-called riot police) were carrying out what is known in jargon as “bottling up” the fans of a team to escort them to the stadium entrance and thus avoid incidents with the rival team’s fans.
According to these sources, during this operation and near the Martínez Valero stadium, two Barcelona supporters, apparently minors, began shouting “fucking Spain” and “police dogs.” The operation leader then ordered them to be removed from the group to proceed with their identification with the aim of sanctioning them.
It was at that moment that the altercations began, ending with the arrest of one of the young men, the one appearing in the images shared by Junts, wearing a white shirt and whom the officers hit with their batons. He is charged with alleged crimes of resistance, disobedience, and assault on authority since, according to the police report, he tried to punch one of the officers who was arresting him.
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