It’s not just the Palestinian flag that provokes a reaction from officials at Uefa, the Union of European Football Associaitons. Barcelona, the Spanish champions, have been fined €150,000 (Dh605,000) by Uefa after Catalan flags were flown in the Camp Nou during Champions League games last season.
In a statement, the La Liga title holders said that they would do everything to overturn a punishment which they described as “totally unjust and ... opposed to the exercise of the freedom of expression.”
Of the fine, €50,000 will be suspended if there is no repeat offence in the next two years.
The Catalan ‘estelada’ — which differentiates from the red and yellow Catalan flag by the presence of a five-pointed star within a blue triangle — has in recent years become a symbol of the independence movement within Catalonia.
European football’s governing body considers it a political symbol and fined Barcelona €40,000 after it was flown during a Champions League group game against Bayer Leverkusen last September.
The club was also fined €30,000 in July 2015 after it was flown during the Champions League final in Berlin the previous month, where Barca beat Juventus to lift the trophy.
