Why Referee Stopped Espanyol vs Barcelona to Speak With Police

Barcelona’s game against Espanyol on Thursday night was temporarily brought to a halt early in the first half after an incident outside the stadium saw several fans injured and rushed to hospital. Hansi Flick’s side went into their clash with their Catalan rivals knowing that a win would be enough to secure the La Liga title over Real Madrid.

However, in just the eighth minute, referee Cesar Soto Grado stopped the game to speak with police on the touchlines, as reports emerged of a vehicle knocking down several fans outside the RCDE Stadium. The game would resume two minutes later as harrowing video footage of the incident began to appear on social media.

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No Serious Injuries After Fans Hit By Car Outside Espanyol Stadium

ITV’s Sam Matterface confirmed the incident was the reason for the stoppage

In footage released on social media, a car could be seen driving into supporters, several of whom were taken to a local hospital by ambulances that arrived on the scene shortly after. It was confirmed by ITV’s Sam Matterface that this was indeed the reason why the game was stopped momentarily, though the commentator insisted that there had been no serious injuries. This was also reiterated by the PA system that revealed the news to the fans inside the ground.

As of yet, the cause of the incident has not been determined, though Marca have claimed that the current theory is that an elderly driver lost control of their vehicle and could not stop the car, leading to them knocking over several pedestrians. As many as seven ambulances arrived on the scene, with those hurt being transported to the Bellvitge Hospital located just over three kilometres away from the stadium.

It has also been stated that many fans opted to leave the game at half-time, with many unhappy that the game was allowed to continue after what had happened before kick-off.