Catalan Speaker of the House Patricia Platja has asked Real Madrid to take down their video published on Monday night, which accused Barcelona of being favoured by former Spanish Dictator Francisco Franco.
After Barcelona President Joan Laporta accused Real Madrid of being the team of the regime, the official Real Madrid account released a video on Twitter which was four minutes long and accused Barcelona of the same thing.
This has been met with an angry reception in Catalonia, one of the areas that suffered most from Franco’s regime in terms of reprisals and crimes against humanity.
Speaking the day after, Platja responded with the following speech, as per Marca.
“The video that Real Madrid has broadcast is such a crude manipulation of history that it seems textbook. It is indecent ‘fake news’. It comes from a private institution and a club with so much impact and so many followers. So it must be given the importance that it is being given.”
“It is irresponsible, offensive and an insult to the thousands of people who suffered under the Franco regime, including FC Barcelona, beginning with the president at the time, Josep Sunyol, who was shot by the regime and perhaps Real Madrid do not remember him.”
“it would be good if Real Madrid removed the video and apologised for having crossed a red line.”
Former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont, currently living in exile, also got involved. He claimed on Twitter that it was comparable to the ‘oppression’ of Catalonia over decades.
“What Madrid is doing with Barca, both the persecution and the effort to impose an official story in which the oppressors are victims of the oppressed, is the same thing they have been doing for decades with Catalonia. That is why it is no coincidence that a media that has its headquarters in a building owned by the Episcopal Church, the same one of the bishops who blessed the fascist crusade, relate one thing and another.”
El que Madrid està fent amb el Barça, tant la persecució com l’esforç per imposar un relat oficial en què els opressors són víctimes de l’oprimit, és el mateix que porten fent des de fa dècades amb Catalunya. Per això no és cap casualitat que un mitjà que té la seu en un edifici… https://t.co/RHFMQWuOBR
— krls.eth / Carles Puigdemont (@KRLS) April 18, 2023
The video points out that Barcelona received Franco on several occasions, and pointed out that Franco was given several honours by Barcelona, without referencing the fact that a number of Barcelona Presidents were imposed by Franco.
Oh but getting money from him and being bailed out was cool back then thought. Where were the protests back then? And that he financed building of camp nou was also fine, yeah?
Hypocrisy is unbelieveable, lmaoo