Moroccan Protester’s Viral Encounter with Barcelona FC President at Police Station

5 March 2021 – byKamal · 1 min read

Mohamed, a Moroccan living in Barcelona, did not know that his arrest on Monday would propel him into the media spotlight. From one day to the next, the man became famous thanks to a chance encounter with the president of the Catalan club, Josep Mario Bartomeu, in a police station.

Arrested on Monday evening while demonstrating against the arrest of Spanish rapper Pablo Hassel, Mohamed found himself face to face with the president of FC Barcelona.

In a statement to the radio Onda Zero, the Moroccan expatriate said: "I didn’t know Bartomeu was at the police station when I arrived. I was waiting to get my belongings back, when he was leaving the premises, apparently relaxed. I then asked him for a photo, and the video went viral very quickly." He said it had exceeded 1 million views.

Arrested as part of the Barçagate scandal, Josep Mario Bartomeu is being prosecuted for having diverted around 1 million euros from his club and for having used a communication agency to discredit players, including Gérard Piqué and Lionel Messi.