The coronavirus pandemic, which generates so many headaches in the form of economic losses and correct negotiations to defer the players’ salaries, at the same time offers the Barça board the option of postponing the vote of censure that 20,000 members, tips from the sporting and institutional drift of recent years at the club, have endorsed with his signature. Determined to end their term, both Josep Maria Bartomeu and his board have been trying for weeks to gain time so that the initiative takes as long as possible to get to the polls.
When the promoters of the motion presented the signatures, the Barça leadership waited until the last day to set up the censure vote table. During the counting of media, he reported to the Civil Guard the existence of 500 allegedly counterfeit tickets. And once the signatures were validated, he stretched the call for the referendum until the last day left by the statutes, which in this case is November 1st. None of these movements has stopped the process, but at the Camp Nou they still rely on the unpredictable letter of covid and health measures, which already served the board to postpone sine die the ordinary general assembly.
On Wednesday evening, after the meeting between Barça and Generalitat officials to study the protocol of the censorship vote and the return of the public to the stadium and the Palau, club sources already assured that “at least fifteen” days “to adapt the motion to the changes demanded by Health and the Secretary General of Sport, which are basically to go from 13 to 21 polling stations and two to three days of voting to avoid crowds. The Minister of the Interior, Miquel Sàmper, told RAC1 the following day: “If Barça follow these guidelines to stagger the participation of around 40,000 or 50,000 members, the vote of censure can be held.” . No sign of possible date changes in the official message from the authorities. However, Jordi Cardoner publicly insisted on the postponement citing “logistical problems” and assuming that the motion, to go well, should be made on November 15 and 16, two weeks later than expected. The club reinforced the vice president’s message with a statement in the same direction.
The Government reiterates that the motion can be made for All Saints
As might be expected, the proponents of the censure vote against Bartholomew reacted badly to the board’s position. One of the promoters of the initiative, Marc Duch, expressed his displeasure: “On October 7 it was already known that there would be a vote. It could have started to organize it then. See you on the 1st at the Camp Nou “. For his part, the pre-candidate for the presidency of the entity, Víctor Font, described as “scandalous filibusterism” and “obstruction of democracy” Cardoner’s statements regarding a change of date that could only occur if the Generalitat authorizes it.
Right now, despite the pandemic numbers, the Government stands firm: “No. there is no legal or health impediment so that the vote of censure can be carried out safely on the scheduled dates. “. Meanwhile, Aristides Maillol does not fully understand the position of Health and Sports. “It makes little sense to authorize the motion when this week we have not been allowed to put a thousand people in the stadium or five hundred in the Palace,” club sources told ARA, urging authorities to review the date of the referendum. . These views are those that came out of a second telematic meeting held yesterday at noon.
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