2023-07-11 11:52:18
Getafe will face champions Barcelona without their supporters for the first match of the new La Liga season, having been sanctioned for a pitch invasion dating back to 2017.
The Supreme Court of Spain, the highest judicial body in the country, has indeed reversed the decision of the National Audience to cancel the sanction, in a document consulted on Tuesday by AFP.
Getafe fans had invaded the pitch at the Madrid club’s Coliseum Alfonso Perez stadium following beating Tenerife to promotion to La Liga six years ago, provoking opposing fans and forcing match officials to take refuge in their dressing room.
The arrival of FC Barcelona is one of the most lucrative meetings of the season for Getafe, but president Angel Torres assured that he was more saddened for the supporters.
«If what they want is to punish our supporters, we will have no choice but to accept it“Torres told AS on Monday. “I’m more sorry for our supporters than for the finances of the club».
Getafe host Barcelona on August 13, in La Liga’s opening weekend.
The Supreme Court has ruled Getafe not punished twice for the same incident following the Madrid government already fined the club.
This dispute contributed to the long delay in the execution of the sanction and it is the reason why the National Audience had initially decided to cancel it.
Elsewhere, Espanyol Barcelona have been handed two matches behind closed doors following their supporters invaded the pitch to chase FC Barcelona players away in May.
The Catalan club claimed the 2022-23 title from their rivals and immediately celebrated their triumph on the pitch at RCDE Stadium, which angry Espanyol fans then stormed.
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