Guardiola: I 'would not have played' Las Palmas match amid Catalan unrest
Storied former Barcelona player and manager Pep Guardiola says he would not have played the match against Las Palmas amid police violence and protest toward a referendum vote for the independence of Catalonia.
Faced with the prospect of a six-point deduction as a result of suspending the match, Barcelona took on and defeated Las Palmas 3-0 behind closed doors at an empty Camp Nou on Sunday.
Police clashed with Catalan voters Sunday as the Spanish court banned a referendum vote, which still went ahead despite the violence. Voting boxes were tied down with chains and heavy blocks to prevent being confiscated, while Barcelona tried to postpone or call off the match with La Liga's offices.
Later in the day, club president Josep Maria Bartomeu offered that an empty Camp Nou would be a message to the world about the Catalan independence movement, later explaining: "It was a way to show our rejection of what has been experienced today."
But Guardiola, who left Barcelona for Bayern Munich in 2013, disagrees.
"I would not have played the match," Guardiola said, as quoted by ESPN FC's Samuel Marsden. "And if it did have to be played, then it should not have been behind closed doors. It should have been with supporters.
"Why not let the people express themselves? In Britain, they voted on Brexit, on Scottish independence ..."
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With seven caps for the unofficial Catalonia national team and 47 appearances for Spain, Guardiola clarified that Catalan independence is not an affront to the country, but rather a chance for the people to speak for themselves.
"We don't want them to think that we dislike Spain," Guardiola explained. "Spain is an incredible country, with its literature, sport, cities ... But there is a need to understand that there is a population which wishes to decide its own future.
"On top of it all, we don't even know if Catalonia does or does not want to be independent. There are people that want to take the step, others that think its madness."