Photo: Reuters
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has joined thousands of protesters in Barcelona to call for independence for the Spanish region of Catalonia, the BBC reports.
He made a strong plea for voters to take part in an independence referendum scheduled for 1 October.
“We will vote, even if the Spanish state doesn’t want it,” Guardiola told the crowd. “There is no other way.”
Surveys suggest Catalan voters would narrowly reject independence, though most favour holding a referendum.
On Friday, Catalonia regional government leader Carles Puigdemont decided to hold the vote later this year, in defiance of the government and contravening a ruling by Spain’s Constitutional Court.
It is not clear if the referendum will go ahead.
