The anti-fascist football club Barca has a...

[lopez]

...'francoist' as the head of security. Alejandro Echevarría, brother-in-law of the current president Joan La Porta (or possibly known to Al as Juan La Puerta ) has been unmasked as a former director of the Fundacion Francisco Franco He left the organisation, not upon the restoration of the monarchy in Spain and the democratisation of the country, but in 2003. La Puerta defended his brother-in-law by claiming Al 'is not a 'franquista'' as he 'is no longer a member of the FFF.'

http://www.marca.com/edicion/marca/f...lo/576363.html

[Lim till i die]

How has this gone down in Catalunya

[lopez]

Echevarria resigned on Friday. Well I don't think that you could remain on the board of Barca while being a member/former member of an organisation dedicated to the memory of Fat Frank. However, imagine if this was a Real Madrid director? My God: It just confirms what a fascist club they are. BTW, three Barca members were expelled for making threats to LaPuerta. Dunno if they were because his brother-in-law was a fascist or that he had to resign.

[thejollyrodger]

The FOUNDATION OF FASCIST FRANCO FCUKING SCUM should be out lawed.

Its a bit rich for Barca to lecture the rest of spain about Reál Madrid being the fascist club when they go and apoint someone like Alejandro Echevarría as the head of security.

[lopez]

The FOUNDATION OF FASCIST FRANCO FCUKING SCUM should be out lawed.

Its a bit rich for Barca to lecture the rest of spain about Reál Madrid being the fascist club when they go and apoint someone like Alejandro Echevarría as the head of security.

I wouldn't go as far as that. Free speech and all that, although that the foundation states that it is 'colaborating in the defence of the true Spanish history' does send a shiver down my spine. What I do agree with you is the hipocracy of Barca having this bloke as a director. If he was a falangist party member under Fat Frank's regime - as 'Joan' Nunez was accused of by La Porta, et al - then I'd personally forgive him. But 2003? Of a foundation that actively seeks to distort Spanish history? And LP didn't have a clue? FFS!!

[Éanna]

Typical Barca. They have spent decades giving out about Real being the favoured team of the regime etc etc., their links to the regime were there too, and they still have major links to regional and national politics in Spain. In fact, they're probably the most politically-connected club in Spain. ****ing hypocrites is all they are. The whole myth about Franco winning Real their trophies was created by people who cannot accept Barca are second best, and always will be.

[Dublin12]

The whole myth about Franco winning Real their trophies was created by people who cannot accept Barca are second best, and always will be.

Second best ,and I thought when they won the league last year that would make them the best ,this football lark is getting more confusing by the day.

[Dodge]

Typical Barca. They have spent decades giving out about Real being the favoured team of the regime etc etc., their links to the regime were there too, and they still have major links to regional and national politics in Spain. In fact, they're probably the most politically-connected club in Spain. ****ing hypocrites is all they are. The whole myth about Franco winning Real their trophies was created by people who cannot accept Barca are second best, and always will be.

Its not just Barca fans who claim it though, is it Eanna? Pretty much every person in Spain (bar real fans) thinks that Franco helped win Madrid trophies. Its pretty indisputable too. Regardng their political links, they're pretty open about it. Nobody there will ever say they're not.

Anyway he was sacked and Laporta looks to be in trouble. Probably only a Champions league could save him.

Lopez, you seem to know what you're talking about regarding spanish football, any better examples of how barca are a fascist club?

[Éanna]

Dodge, how is it indisputable? they may have political links- so do many clubs in Spain. Real's biggest fault in all this (if you can call it a fault) is that they have not tried to cover up their political links, where other clubs have. As regards Franco helping real to win trophies, its ******. And the proof is in the pudding: compare the number of trophies won by Barca and Real during the dictatorship, to the number they won since- it works out almost exactly the same proportion, with Real on top in both cases. Also, have a look at Real's record in Europe- suggesting that Franco won them their trophies? Spain was an international outcast in the 50's when Real won those 5 European Cups- there is NO way that the Franco regime could have influenced it. They won them because they were the best team in Spain, and the best team in Europe. The myth of Real being the government team was a Barca creation seized on by other clubs

[lopez]

Lopez, you seem to know what you're talking about regarding spanish football, any better examples of how barca are a fascist club?

Barca are not a fascist club per se, and nobody is saying so. Owned by its members, before the the Echevarria 'escandalo' I would have put their 'fascist' membership at about the average for Catalunya (which includes the equally racist Catalan ultra-right that you never hear of). Their support in the rest of Spain (very high aswell and includes the Badajoz born Prime Minister Zapatero) is almost exclusively left-wing. What p*sses me off is that the club is portrayed - often within this forum - and portrays itself as entirely devoid of benefitting from the Franco regime and therefore, solely a victim of it. For some, anyone that questions this myth is a 'Real supporting fascist' themselves (e.g. Aldini 98). Forget the collaborators during Fat Frank's time at the Pardo (admittedly non-supporters need not had applied for the president's post, so we can leave that one alone), 'aperturistas' like 'Josep'? / 'Joan'? Nunez who saw the error of their ways and changed their Christian names to prove it, or Echevarria, who quite frankly has no such excuse and is a f*cking disgrace. The fact that he is the brother-in-law of La Porta - and appointed by him - is even more outrageous. I wouldn't really expect a Che Guevarra look-a-like pot smoker to be in charge of security at the Nou Camp; but someone who actively promotes/ed the nicer side of arguably the biggest Spanish criminal since Torquemada, is beyond belief.

As Eanna states, to win those trophies during the Franco regime, certainly suggests that when the old man died the dominance would become astonishing. But they've carried on much the same. When you consider that football clubs were destroyed for political and ethnic connections in other parts of Europe (fascist and communist) Barca got off lightly. In fact, I'd suggest Franco would have hijacked Barca for his own political gains if they were as successful as Real in Europe in the way he did at both Atletico (foisting the Air Force on them) and Real. I mean Madrid was hardly more a city that welcomed the Nationalist uprising than Barcelona, becoming the last city to fall to Franco's troops.

[Risteard]

Barca ARE second best, and always will be.

Ya take a break from watching Spanish football the last year or two?