Barcelona Advisor Enric Masip has closed his Twitter/X account, after criticism for his sharing of anti-immigrant sentiment over the last week. He had previously stated that he was drawing attention to ‘what was happening on the street’, but has now decided to close his account, feeling it was havingh a negative impact on President Joan Laporta.
Masip is close to Laporta, and responded earlier this week to questions over his actions on social media. He explained that he was not necessarily against ‘legal migration’, but would not express his views on social media.
According to Diario AS, Barcelona’s ethics committee was on alert as a result of the messages, and the outlet had received that indications that the issue would be looked at next time the club called on them. Barcelona’s ethical code states that anybody linked with the club ‘will promote the democratic values of equality and non-discrimination (…) and will fight for the eradication of all sexist, homophobic and racist attitudes in the social and sports spheres.”
On Wednesday afternoon, Masip tweeted out that he would be closing his account.
“There was quite a stir on social media yesterday as a result of my account’s Twitter activity.
Due to my position at FC Barcelona, and my journey as a player in the organization I love, I want to convey to public opinion that freedom of expression.”
Ahir es va produir cert rebombori a les xarxes socials com a conseqüències de l’activitat a Twitter del meu compte.
Degut al meu càrrec en el FC Barcelona,i al meu recorregut com a jugador en l’entitat que estimo,vull transmetre a l’opinió pública que la llibertat d’expressió⬇️— Enric Masip (@enricmasip5) July 3, 2024
“Sometimes it can come into conflict with the role one is assigned to in the working world. As a result of the uproar experienced and the messages I have inserted on my timeline have been able to cause discomfort, especially because they have put President Laporta and FC Barcelona in an awkward situation which I never wanted to happen, I am sending this message to announce that I am closing my account on X.”
Certainly Masip was at risk of falling foul of the ethical code, and in a number of his retweets, there was content that downplayed gender violence, and discriminated against others based on skin colour and sexuality.
Héctor Fort has the interest of Alavés and other teams, but is focused on July 10th to start the pre-season and establish himself definitively in the first team. @bonagerman
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) July 3, 2024
So far he has escaped any punishment from the club. Previously advisor Alejandro Echevarria, who still plays a role at the club unofficially, was forced out due to his membership of the Francisco Franco Foundation, the Spanish dictator who over decades banned Catalan language and sought to erase related culture.
