English Premier League
Valencia v Barcelona: Peter Lim arrival heightens tension ahead of Mestalla fixture
Barcelona are monitoring security concerns ahead of their La Liga meeting with Valencia, with protests against the club’s ownership and management expected around Mestalla.
Valencia president Peter Lim arrived in the city by private jet on Sunday morning, just hours before kick-off, according to Catalan newspaper Sport. Spanish publication AS reported that the club had not officially confirmed whether Lim would attend the match from the directors’ box, although expectations remain that Valencia’s highest-ranking official will be inside the stadium.
Lim’s arrival comes at a particularly sensitive time for Valencia. Carlos Corberan’s side have taken only one point from a possible nine in their opening three league fixtures, while the transfer window has added to supporters’ frustration. Fans have prepared a series of protests aimed at the club’s ownership and administration.
That combination of poor results and continuing dissatisfaction with the way the club is being run is expected to create a hostile atmosphere in and around Mestalla before the match begins. The relationship between Valencia supporters and the club’s hierarchy remains severely strained.
There are also recent memories of unrest surrounding this fixture. Before the final meeting between the two sides last season, incidents took place outside Mestalla. Local supporters set off flares, threw objects towards police officers and shouted as Barcelona’s team bus passed by.
Sport reports that Barcelona are therefore paying close attention to the hours leading up to the game. It will be the first away trip for their supporters since incidents in the area around Martinez Valero, shortly before Barcelona’s La Liga debut against Elche.
Those events remain a concern within the Catalan club. Security measures organised by the same police force led to confrontations between Barcelona fans and members of the Policia Nacional before the match.
Barcelona subsequently condemned what it described as the “excessive” use of force against one of its supporters and called for an explanation of the security intervention that took place before the game.
The club’s attention on the build-up to Sunday’s fixture reflects the combination of factors surrounding the match: expected demonstrations against Valencia’s ownership, dissatisfaction with the team’s early-season form and previous incidents involving supporters and police.
While Valencia have not confirmed Lim’s presence in the stadium, his arrival in the city has added to the focus on the match. The prospect of protests outside Mestalla means the atmosphere is expected to be tense well before the players take to the pitch, with Barcelona also alert to the potential risks for their travelling supporters.