Barcelona could face sanctions from the Spanish authorities in the aftermatch of El Clasico, after the report from referee Juan Martinez Munuera indicated two dangerous incidents involving the fans at Camp Nou.
Twice El Clasico had to be stopped as the referee waited for announcement to be made over the tannoy, asking fans to respect the players and refrain from throwing objects.
Diario AS have published part of the match report which indicates what happened.
“In the 74th minute of the match, several lighters were thrown by the public located behind the Real Madrid goal without hitting any player. Due to this, the meeting was stopped for a few minutes to announce over the public address system that these acts ceased.”
However just six minutes later, a similar incident occurred but this time with two bottles, a coin and 3 lighters. One of them hit Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
“In the 80th minute of the game and during the celebration of a Real Madrid goal, two half-filled bottles of water fell from a sector of the stands without hitting any player, while 3 lighters and one fell on the Real Madrid goal. 1 euro coin, impacting one of these objects on the Real Madrid goalkeeper, without causing any damage and being able to continue without any problem.”
“Due to what was previously written, the meeting was stopped for a few minutes, announcing it again over the public address system.”
Fortunately it did not do any damage to Courtois, but it appears the seriousness of the issue was lost on the Barcelona support. Had the coin impacted on Courtois’ head, it could have had permanent effects on the Belgian.
It is not yet clear whether Barcelona will face sanctions for the offences. In addition, the last thing Barcelona need is more conflict with the authorities or potential financial punishment.