Madrid’s former Barca star Luis Figo was pelted with bottles, golf balls, mobile phones and bizarrely a pig’s head every time he went to take a corner, causing the game to be halted for ten minutes during the second half.
The Spanish FA disciplinary committee will meet later in the week to decide what action to take and the Spanish press is full of rumours that Barcelona will receive the same penalty as Sevilla did earlier in the season – their home ground being closed for four weeks.
However, the incidents that led to Sevilla’s ground closure included a fan running on to the pitch to attack the Real Betis goalkeeper and a security guard being attacked by a group of fans.
Barcelona’s fans do not have a bad reputation in Spain and this incident is likely to be viewed as a one off, triggered by the exceptional circumstances of the return of Figo.
So reports of a lengthy home ban are likely to be some way off the mark.