La Liga will not oppose Barcelona vs Valencia behind closed doors at Spotify Camp Nou | OneFootball

Many doubts still surround FC Barcelona’s first home match of the 2025-26 season, scheduled for the weekend of 13-14 September against Valencia.

La Liga has yet to confirm the exact date of the fourth-round fixture, and it remains uncertain whether the game can be played at the Spotify Camp Nou as intended amid continued delays.

The possibility of hosting the match without fans at Camp Nou is being considered while other alternatives, including Girona’s Estadi Montilivi, are being explored.

La Liga not opposed to no spectators at stadium for the game

Now, according to Mundo Deportivo, La Liga would not object if the match were staged behind closed doors at Spotify Camp Nou, provided the City Council grants Barcelona the First Occupancy Licence.

This licence would allow the stadium to host only the essential actors needed for the match: players, referees, TV crews, and operational staff. The coming days will be decisive as Barça decide where to hold the game.

Playing at the Estadi Olimpic in Montjuic is impossible that weekend because Post Malone is scheduled to perform there on Friday, 12 September. For now, everything hinges on the City Council’s ruling, based on the latest report on the Camp Nou redevelopment works.

Barcelona could host Valencia behind closed doors. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Barcelona have not yet submitted the Final Works Certificate, which is required before the Council can process the First Occupancy Licence. That licence is critical to authorise matches at the new stadium, even with a limited-capacity crowd.

There remains the possibility that Barcelona could be authorised to play the game without fans, if the Council approves.

This would still require La Liga’s ratification of the stadium’s operating licence, ensuring that the venue can safely host the minimum necessary personnel.

In such a case, Barça could host Valencia at their home ground in exceptional circumstances – a scenario reminiscent of matches during the COVID era.

The precedent of 1 October 2017 also looms large. On that day, in the midst of Catalonia’s independence referendum, Barça played against Las Palmas at an empty Camp Nou.

The club decided to shut the doors in protest, citing “the lack of freedoms,” after La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) refused to postpone the match.