Barcelona, Spain – Camp Nou turned into a war zone Sunday night as 20,000 furious Barcelona fans stormed the streets, torches blazing and voices thundering “UEFALONA! MAFIA! MAFIA! MAFIA!” in a deafening chant that echoed across Catalonia. The target? Club president Joan Laporta, accused of funneling €20 million in secret bribes to UEFA officials to rig Champions League draws and referee decisions. Leaked bank transfers, published by El Mundo at 6 p.m. local time, show payments labeled “consultancy fees” to accounts linked to UEFA vice-president Zbigniew Boniek and match delegate Pierre Luigi Collina – just hours before Barca’s controversial 3-2 comeback against Bayern Munich last month.
The protests kicked off at 8 p.m. outside the stadium, where fans unfurled a 50-foot banner: “LAPORTA OUT – THIEVES IN SUITS!” Flares lit the night sky blood-red as supporters burned Laporta effigies and chanted “MAFIA! MAFIA!” in unison. One viral clip – already at 28 million views on X – shows a masked ultra smashing a UEFA logo with a hammer while screaming “Fixed draws! Bought refs! This is NOT our Barça!” Police in riot gear formed lines, but the crowd surged, forcing Laporta’s motorcade to flee through a side exit.
X exploded. #UEFALONA rocketed to 4.1 million posts in three hours, memes splicing Laporta’s smug presser grins with mafia don caricatures: “From ‘Mes que un club’ to ‘Mes que una mafia’ – Laporta’s cartel exposed!” Rivals feasted: Madrid fans trolled with “Hala Mafia” edits; PSG ultras demanded a UCL asterisk on Barca’s 2011 title. Even neutrals raged: “If true, ban them from Europe for a decade.”
Laporta’s camp issued a midnight denial: “Baseless smears from jealous rivals.” But insiders whisper the €20M slush fund ties to “Caso Negreira 2.0” – the 2023 ref-bribery scandal that already cost Barca €7.5M in fines. UEFA launched an “urgent probe” at 2 a.m.; coach Hansi Flick canceled training, locking players in a hotel amid death threats.
From Camp Nou siege to global outrage, this could be the final nail in Laporta’s corrupt coffin. Will UEFA strip titles? Will fans boycott El Clásico? One tweet sums the fury: “Més que un club? More like Més que una màfia.” Barcelona’s soul is burning – and the mafia chant won’t stop. Who’s next to fall?
