Barca face expulsion
Barcelona would not be allowed to play in La Liga if Catalonia broke away from Spain, the country's football league chief Javier Tebas said as tensions mounted in the region over the possibility of an independence referendum next month.
Politics have been interwoven with the football club almost since it was formed and is summed up by the team's motto: 'more than a club'.
Barca's role in pushing the Catalan nationalist cause varies depending on the board in power, but it always plays a central role in cultural life.
The present board, first under president Sandro Rosell and now Josep Maria Bartomeu, have taken a back-seat role in the heated debate currently taking place in the region about whether to hold an independence referendum on Nov. 9.
Catalan independence would clearly impact on the future of Barca, who, along with Real Madrid, are the major powerhouses of the Spanish game with support throughout the country.
In the event that Barca did leave La Liga then it would severely weaken the image of the competition at home and abroad.
Similarly it would be hard to imagine Barca and local rivals Espanyol competing in a Catalan league, which would have many semi-professional teams.
"If Catalonia became independent, taking into consideration the Sports Law that would be enforced by the rest of Spain, Barcelona wouldn't be allowed to play," Tebas, the president of the LFP, told a sports conference in Barcelona.
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