Espanyol have condemned the action of their fans that invaded the pitch on Sunday night as Barcelona celebrated their league title. CEO Mao Ye spoke to the media after the game, explaining that they would be cooperating fully in order to eradicate the culprits from the stadium.
Barcelona players were forced to flee the field of play while celebrating their league triumph after a number of Espanyol fans made their way onto the pitch. Ye told MD that they did not represent Espanyol.
“We want to apologise to the world of football for these events. Those who have jumped onto the field of play do not represent the image of Espanyol, far from it. These do not represent our club and we will do everything possible to eradicate this type of situation, which cannot happen in our stadium.”
La Liga communicated on Monday morning that they would be working with Espanyol to identify those on the pitch, and then sanction those players. Neither Sergi Darder nor manager Luis Garcia were able to comment on the events, having missed them, but the club did release a statement saying they regretted the incidents and condemn violence. Ye said they would be reviewing their security.
“From the club we have always taken the necessary security measures, we are even one of the strictest clubs in this type of prevention. We will have to review what has happened and fix any sort of deficiencies that are present.”
Plenty of the ire on Sunday night was directed towards Ye and the leadership of the club too, and he was sympathetic to their frustration, but asked that the club fight until the end for safety in La Liga.
“We can only fight until the end. We understand the upset of the fans due to the poor sports results. While there is the slightest possibility, we have to fight.”
Espanyol could well face a significant sanction for the events on Sunday night. It may even result in a stadium closure depending on the results of the investigation into the matter. It was a tough evening for Los Pericos on Sunday, and they have just four games to make up the four-point gap to safety now.
Full Statement:
RCD Espanyol regrets the isolated incidents that occurred at the end of the match played at our stadium.
As Pericos, defeat hurts us, but we will never accept violence, however residual it may be.
On the other hand, we want to thank all the Pericos who have encouraged us today and throughout the season despite the sporting results.
As we have always done, RCD Espanyol shows its categorical rejection of any type of violence in the world of football and will use all the resources at our disposal to eradicate it, showing, as always, full collaboration with the Security Forces in whatever they require.
