THERE was chaos yesterday in Spain when the Catalonia independence referendum took place in Barcelona. Spanish riot police clashed with the people who were determined to vote while FC Barcelona locked thousands of fans out of the Nou Camp while they played a league match against Las Palmas, as a sign of protest after their request to postpone the match in view of the poll was rejected.

It seems Catalans have to pay a high price for their bid to break away, in damage to property and in injuries, and in the curtailing of economic activity.

The question is, why was the referendum so important?

I was in Spain on vacation last summer. The trip began in Madrid, followed by Granada, Cordoba and ending in Barcelona. As a die-hard fan of FC Barcelona, I was interested in staying longer at La Rambla Street, which is one of the most attractive tourist places in the Catalonian capital.

Indeed, the tour gave me a different view of Spain as a country and of Catalonia as a part of Spanish territory. Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, is a modern and developed city, buzzing with business and tourist activities that generate economic prosperity. The Port of Barcelona, better known as Port de Barcelona, has thousands of years of history and is of great contemporary commercial importance as one of Europe’s ports in the Mediterranean, as well being Catalonia’s largest port. It is certainly one reason why the city is one of the largest contributors to the Spanish economy.

The Catalan Parliament on September 6 officially approved the referendum on the secession of Catalonia, but the bid for independence is not a new development.

If we look at history, the Catalan struggle for independence started in the Middle Ages, when the area was conquered by the Visigoths for almost two and half centuries. In 718, it came under Muslim control and become part of Al-Andalus, a province of the Umayyad Caliphate. As the Al-Andalus Empire fell, Catalonia became a part of the rising  Aragon-Castile Kingdom ruled by Queen Isabella I, a state that lasted until the 18th century. 

Things worsened in the modern era, when under Franco’s rule in 1939, all public activities associated with Catalan nationalism, including the publication of books and the Catalan institutions of self-government, were banned. This created fierce political rivalry that became known as “El-Clasico” between Madrid, viewed as representing Spanish nationalism and Barcelona, viewed as representing Catalan nationalism.

The rivalry is still strong today, and the call for independence is inevitable as Catalans believe they can be self-sustaining and do not need Spain.

The fact remains such a call is common enough if one counts the cases of Timur Leste, South Sudan and even Singapore, all of which had succeeded in their claims for independence. 

This begs another question, at least to this writer. Should the Catalans achieve their aim, what would happen to FC Barcelona? Would they still be allowed to play in LA Liga? And if not, will the league remain competition without the football club?

* Ahmad Shahir Abdul Aziz reads The Malaysian Insight.
 

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.