Barcelona demands the expulsion of a team from an amateur league that honoured Franco

Barcelona City Council urges the Velódromo de Horta to remove from the competition the team that until recently was called 'F.C. Bayern de los Caídos', in reference to the Francoist side. The Office of Democratic Memory is studying a prior complaint.

The Barcelona City Council has taken action against the amateur football team competing at the Velódromo de Horta under the name F.C. Bayern de los Caídos, a name that parodied the German club and paid homage to the fallen of the Francoist side. The Sports Councillor, David Escudé, sent a letter last Friday to the head of the municipal facility urging him to take "all necessary actions for this team to withdraw from the competition."

The decision comes a day after the ERA Abogados law firm filed a complaint with the Office of Democratic Memory against the team for allegedly violating the Democratic Memory Law by displaying Francoist symbols in a publicly owned space.

The team, which now calls itself Mingorrubio Balompié, changed its name and crest just a few days ago amid the controversy. The previous name referred to the Mingorrubio cemetery in El Pardo (Madrid), where the remains of Francisco Franco have been buried since 2019, when they were moved from the Valle de los Caídos.

Its roster includes public officials from Vox, such as provincial vice president Juan Cremades and the party's councillor in Sarrià Carlos Oliva, as well as a former councillor from the PP in Premià de Dalt.

"Barcelona cannot allow its sports facilities to be used to cover or normalise expressions that glorify or display symbols linked to a dictatorship"

Escudé, who expressed his "indignation" at the presence of Francoist symbols in a venue frequented by young people, is hopeful that the team will "disappear shortly" from this private league and any others. The council is not limited to the cessation letter: municipal legal services are exploring "more forceful actions", including the possibility of criminal charges.

The complaint to the Office of Democratic Memory activates one of the mechanisms of the Democratic Memory Law passed in 2022, which prohibits the public display of elements that glorify or promote the Francoist dictatorship. The case opens the debate on whether an amateur team competing in municipal facilities can invoke freedom of expression to maintain a name and symbols that the law considers illegal.

The Barcelona City Council is clear that it cannot, and now it will be up to the Office of Democratic Memory to decide. The amateur league held at the Velódromo de Horta is private, but it takes place in a municipal space, prompting the council to intervene. The team, for its part, has already modified its visual identity, a gesture that municipal sources interpret as an attempt to ease pressure before the Office of Democratic Memory makes a statement.