Barcelona’s La Liga game against Las Palmas was played behind closed doors as a protest after their request for it to be postponed in light of Catalonia’s independence referendum was rejected.
The Spanish government pledged to stop a poll declared illegal on a day of violent protests and unrest.
Barca took the decision to play behind closed doors 25 minutes before kick-off, with thousands of fans outside.
The league leaders cruised to a comfortable 3-0 victory.
Catalonia, a region of 7.5 million people in north-eastern Spain, has its own language and culture and Barcelona is its capital.
It also has a high degree of autonomy, but is not recognised as a separate nation under the Spanish constitution.
‘We condemn the events that have taken place’
In a strongly worded statement on their website before the 15:15 BST kick-off, Barcelona said they had wanted to postpone the match in light of the political situation.
The statement said: “FC Barcelona condemns the events which have taken place in many parts of Catalonia today in order to prevent its citizens exercising their democratic right to free expression.
“Given the exceptional nature of events, the board of directors have decided that the FC Barcelona first-team game against Las Palmas will be played behind closed doors following the Professional Football League’s refusal to postpone the game.”
During the game, the scoreboard at the Nou Camp carried a picture of a ballot box and the word ‘democracy’ on it.
Barca’s opponents Las Palmas had the Spanish flag embroidered prominently onto their match shirts to state their support for a united Spain.
