Espanyol face fan backlash after congratulating Barcelona for Copa del Rey triumph | OneFootball

FC Barcelona won their 32nd Copa del Rey trophy on Saturday night, defeating Real Madrid 3-2 after extra time in the finals at Estadio de La Cartuja, Seville.

It was a hard-fought battle between the two arch-rivals with the Blaugrana prevailing in the end thanks to an extra-time goal from Jules Kounde.

Espanyol’s show of sportsmanship causes uproar among fanbase

Following Barcelona’s triumph in the Copa del Rey final, their local bitter rivals, RCD Espanyol, posted a message on social media congratulating them on the victory.

Commenting on a social media post from Barça, which read: “The Cup is ours”, Espanyol, setting aside the rivalry and showing good sportsmanship, wrote: “Congratulations, FC Barcelona, on winning the Copa del Rey.”

As reported by AS, this sparked an immediate backlash from the Espanyol supporters as they hijacked the comment expressing their anger at a message they believed should never have been posted.

“Delete it” was the most repeated comment among the replies and quotes to the club’s post.

Many Espanyol fans blamed the message on the club’s CEO, Mao Ye Wu, who is often accused of having sympathies towards Barcelona.

Others revived the chant “Board of Directors, resign,” a common cry at the RCDE Stadium under the current ownership.

“What kind of disrespect towards the fans is this?” asked one supporter. “The one being bullied congratulating the bully,” wrote another user.

Among the more prominent figures who reacted was former Espanyol board member Robert Hernando, who was blunt:

“I am ashamed of this Espanyol. Do we really have to congratulate a corrupt and thieving club? An entity that has spent its life trying to make life impossible for us?”

“It is incredible the distance between those who govern and the feelings of the majority of the fans. Pitiful,” he concluded.

Barcelona will take on Espanyol in the Catalan derby on 15 May, and the Blaugrana can expect to see a hostile reception from the fans at the RCDE Stadium.