Spanish press sounds off on German fan presence: "One of the saddest nights in the history of the Camp Nou."
The number of Eintracht Frankfurt supporters in the Camp Nou on Thursday night easily topped 25,000.
Barça head-coach Xavi Hernandez expressed shame over the occurrence. Club President Joan Laporta offered up a public apology for the scene.
On Friday morning, the FCB received quite the grilling in Spanish press sources.
Eintracht Frankfurt traveling supporters were offered a meager allotment of 5,000 tickets at the Camp Nou for their club's away Europa League leg against Barcelona on Thursday night. At least 20,000 more found their way into the stadium. At times during the victory, it felt as if the SGE was contesting a home match.
Barça head-coach Xavi Hernandez expressed shame over the occurrence. Club President Joan Laporta offered up a public apology for the scene.
On Friday morning, the FCB received quite the grilling in Spanish press sources.
Both Eintracht keeper and team trainer Oliver Glasner noted afterwards that the support from the stands played an important part in the win. Barça gaffer Xavi Hernandez, in his own post-match presser, acknowledged that the altered atmosphere "was a big help for them".
Shortly after the second half kicked off, many Blaugrana supporters could be seen vacating their seats and heading for the exits. One assumes this constituted an act of protest from the Culés, who could not understand why so many Eintracht supporters had been permitted into their venue.
Although Xavi and club President Joan Laporta claimed that they didn't fully understand what happened afterward, it's obvious enough what had transpired. Many Barça ticket-holders simply sold their passes to Eintracht fans on secondary exchanges. Some touting probably also took place outside the stadium.
"It's outrageous and shameful," Laporta said afterwards, "I'm embarrassed and I apologize. Something like this will never happen again."
All across the continent, European press sources rubbed salt in the wounds of the defeated Catalan club. Italy's "La Gazetta della Sport" wrote that "Barça's defeat began at the box office" while France's L'Equippe picked up on the "white-wash" at the Camp Nou.
Naturally, Spanish press sources were the most critical. A summation of the opinion pieces appearing in Spanish dailies lies below.
Sport:
"The inferior Barça team was overwhelmed by the circumstances. A painful exit from Europe. Most of the stands were occupied by Eintracht supporters; an outrageous event that must be investigated. That's not to make excuses, but its understandable that the Blaugrana were shocked from the 1st minute at having to play as guests at home. Something like this has never happened before."
AS:
"Sunk at home. A total sham that Barça's home stadium became a [Black] Forrest Stadium. With more Germans than Catalans, Barça were made to feel like strangers in their own home. A historic situation in which Barça became the first team to play the home and away legs of a competition on the opponent's pitch.
Marca:
"Eintracht gave Xavi's men no chance at the home with 20,000 supporters in the stands. Eintracht made it very clear that Barça still have a long way to go in becoming European contenders again. An early Easter vacation from the Azulgrana left the bleachers balanced. Enormous mistake by Barça to allow so many rivals into the stadium in a game as big as this one."
El Mudo Deportivo:
"What a disappointment. One of the saddest nights in the history of the Camp Nou. The stadium was taken over by the opponent. A barely cognizant Eintracht marched comfortably through a Camp Nou filled with German fans."