Pro-independence protests erupt near Barcelona stadium before El Clasico

Chanting "Independence" and "Free political prisoners", several thousand Catalan protesters gathered near Barcelona's Nou Camp stadium on Wednesday before the local side was to face rivals Real Madrid in Spain's most high-profile match.

According to Press TV, many protesters carried banners that read "Spain, sit and talk" and the secretive Catalan protest group Democratic Tsunami said on Twitter it would distribute 100,000 of those banners to the people attending the game. It also told them to bring inflatable balls and to write on them a "message for the world".

The La Liga game, known as "El Clasico," had initially been scheduled to occur two months ago. However, it was postponed on security concerns due to unrest in the wealthy northeastern region after Spain's Supreme Court in October sentenced nine Catalan separatist leaders to up to 13 years in prison.
ME