In today’s society, when visiting another country, it is 100% normal to google: 25 things you must do in Barcelona. Mostly, if not every time someone does google this, attending a Barça game is definitely going to be on the list.

Based in Barcelona, this professional football club was founded by a group of men some people might never expect. In 1899 a Swiss man, an English man, and a Catalan man all created what is now one of the most popular teams in the world. This franchise would never have been possible with out the advertisement Hans Gamper placed in Los Deportes, announcing his want to form a football club. One month later, eleven players attended the first meeting and FC Barcelona was born. Many people that don’t live or have never lived in Europe don’t know or realize that FCB (Futbol Club Barcelona) is actually a symbol of the Catalan culture, and its motto is “Més que un club” which literarlly translates to “more than a club”.

Many factors play a part in sports violence. For Spain there are three main components that have lead to atrocious behavior by the fans: racism, rivalry and politics.

In 2005, FCB’s Samuel Eto was a victim to racial slurs during a match against Real Zaragoza fans. Whenever Samuel had the ball in his possession the spectators made monkey noises and peanuts were thrown onto the field. After the game, Barça won 4-1, Eto said that he danced like a monkey because the rival fans treated him like one. In a more recent story, FCB player Dani Alves was assaulted when Villarreal fans threw a banana at him in 2014. Dani picked the banana up, peeled it, and then he bit it. Alves claimed that the person who threw the banana at him should be shamed publicly.

The Barça versus Real Madrid rivalry is deeper than just what you see on the field. The friction between the teams has been this way since Spain had a dictator. The two clubs were strangely created simultaneously during a one of the most chaotic times in Spanish history. During the revolt against the Second Spanish Republic, General Franco wanted FC Barcelona to be removed while Real Madrid was not in question. Teams like Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid were linked to franquista groups. Whereas, FC Barcelona was bonded to the independents movements in Catalonia.

Today, Barça is worth $3.2 billion, making it the number two most valuable sports team in the entire world. Unfortunately, FC Barcelona falls short behind Real Madrid which is worth $3.4 billion. Through out the years the skill level on both teams has fluctuated. During the 1930’s Real Madrid was the stronger team, beating FC Barcelona 8-2. But then two months later they were crushed 5-0. In the more recent years, FC Barcelona have had the upper hand against Real Madrid.

The battle between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid escalated in the 1950’s when both teams fought to sign Alfredo Di Stefano. Both Barcelona and Madrid came to the conclusion to share Di Stefano, but after a couple games playing for Barça, they canceled the after Real Madrid put up more money. After this, Di Stefano became known as a Real Madrid player. Another example, Luís Figo, moved from Barça to Real Madrid which stirred up trouble when he returned to play at Camp Nou. Barça fans threw a pig’s head, phones, and bottles onto the field.

Real tragedy struck when in 1991, Frederiq Roiquier, was wrongfully killed by FC Barcelona troublemakers who mistook him for an Espanyol hooligan. Then in 1992, a 13-year-old died due to a flare impact in his throat. Along with many other incidences, the authorities since have made attempts to control the acts of hooliganism. But in 2007, before a Real Madrid match, several cars were totaled and policemen were injured by flares and bottles. The violence in Spain has decreased since the hooligan laws were implemented in the 1990’s. Fines can add up to 600,000 euros and bans of two years into stadiums. In 2008, FC Barcelona publicly took a stand on violence.

The stadium is build for fans, with the home team on one side and the opposing team on the other side. Camp Nou is also built for a riot and is always ready for one. Today the opposing team’s fans sit in the top tier behind the Gol Sur, inside of a section that is blocked off and they are closed in. During the FC Barcelona versus Manchester match it was observed during the game, at half, and once the game was finished that on the big screen it stated something along the lines of “Manchester fans, please remain in your seat until security has told you otherwise”. The Manchester fans were blocked outside of the stadium until most of the Barça fans had entered. Also, they were not allowed to leave their seats until Camp Nou was cleared of Barça fans, due to their long standing competitiveness. Many people that enter a soccer stadium in Europe understand that there is always a chance for violence to break out during a match when playing a rival team.

Interview questions: When you were at the Barça game did you ever feel unsafe? Did you have previous knowledge of any fights or assaults that have ever taken place at a professional football match? Did you feel at any point during the game that your surroundings might become unsafe? Did you notice where the other team was sitting?