Carles Puigdemontthe former President of the Generalitat and leader of JxCat, from his residence in Belgium, will not travel to the Bosuilstadion pitch where Antwerp and FC Barcelona will meet on the last day of the group stage of the 23/24 Champions League.

The reason Puigdemont declined an invitation to a meeting and previous events at Antwerp City Hall by the city’s mayor, Bart De Wever, is the presence of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in the European Parliament.

Sánchez will present in Strasbourg the executive’s vision of his time as president of the European Union. Representatives of the groups will then speak, as will the MEPs who requested this. The list of MEPs who have asked to speak includes Puigdemont, who will address the plenary session before Sánchez can respond to both him and the other participating MEPs.

In addition to the analysis of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU, the amnesty law is expected to be considered, as it will be an issue that will be brought to the plenary by some representative groups, including representatives of the European People’s Party.

A calendar coincidence prevented Carles Puigdemont from being photographed with Joan Laporta, President of FC Barcelona, ​​in the Bosuilstadion box. Moreover, this image will contain even more pain due to the timing of it, as Girona, a team of which Puigdemont is a fan, beat Barcelona 2-4 to top La Liga this Sunday.

Barcelona arrive in Antwerp with doubts, despite the fact that the match with the Belgians is presented as a quiet match in the qualifying plan for Xavi’s team. The punishment imposed by Michel’s team at the Luis Companys Olympic Stadium has caused serious concern in FC Barcelona, ​​which trails Girona by 7 points and Real Madrid by 5 points in the EA Sports La Liga, but will reach the last 16 of the Spanish championship. The Champions League is in first place in the group, except Carambol.