An English-style exceptionality, by Santiago Segurola

For almost 50 years, ordinary citizens wondered about the curious relationship that the United Kingdom maintained with the European Union, of which it had been a part since the 1970s, but with a wide spectrum of particularities that allowed the British to skip the limits that were imposed on the other countries of the community. They were inside, but somehow they felt outside, until they finally slammed the door and left.

Instead of the euro, to speak of earthly issues, the pound sterling prevailed. The free movement of people did not prevent the rest of European citizens from having to go through customs controls, passport in hand. In Europe, the idea of ​​British exceptionalism was internalized, which also reached football. If the rules had to be changed to make the English happy, they were changed.

Barça enjoys exclusive tolerance, that is the perception

In 2005, Liverpool, which had not qualified in the top four of the Premier League, won the European Cup and the right to play in the next edition of the tournament, in exchange for taking the place of Everton, fourth in the championship. English, since UEFA only authorized a maximum participation of four teams.

Five years earlier, Real Madrid’s victory against Valencia in the European Cup final meant the exile of Zaragoza, who qualified fourth in the League for the UEFA Cup (current Europa League). There were no exceptions. Permission for four and it’s over, except for the English, who included five teams – Everton did not suffer the same treatment as Zaragoza – in the 2005-06 edition of the Champions League, without any regulatory justification. They took advantage of the everlasting English exceptionalism, which had become customary in so many other areas.

Through the Olmo case, Barça is seen as a club that enjoys some reservations that no one understands. He made the president of the referees, Enríquez Negreira, a millionaire, without any consequences, as if that secret contractual relationship for 17 years, blessed by several presidents, including Joan Laporta, who doubled his fees, was the most normal thing in the world. And two years ago, the League authorized the great lever of Barça Vision, empty of real content, to authorize signings worth 160 million euros (Koundé, Lewandowski, Raphinha and Pablo Torre) and cause stupor in the rest of the clubs , except for Real Madrid, delighted to protect Barça – “I want to see you”, read the banner of the candidate Laporta on the outskirts of the Bernabéu – in the failed Operation Superliga designed by Florentino Pérez.

In the Olmo case, Barça has resorted to political protection to overcome the denials it received in two courts and by the Spanish football employers’ association. In itself, it is a simple matter: there were rules for everyone that Barça did not comply with, not without prior suspicions. In fact, Dani Olmo and his legal entourage included a precaution in his contract that authorized him to collect his entire contract (50 million euros) and negotiate with any club if Barça did not have his file registered on January 1, 2025. In As for Olmo, he could not play the first two League games and did so later for an exceptional reason, which allows a player’s record to be registered due to a long-term absence of a teammate.

Barça has found in the Ministry of Sports the cover it needs to overcome a crisis that threatens the position of Laporta and his board. We will see the extent of the political consequences in the precarious stability of the government. That football is a hotbed of votes has been known since Silvio Berlusconi rose from president of Milan to prime minister of Italy. There is no doubt, however, about the alarming perception that Spanish football has of Barça, owner of an English-style exceptionality. It is Barça and it enjoys exclusive tolerance.