Chaos at Barcelona as president Bartomeu faces vote of no confidence
The reign of Josep Maria Bartomeu as the president of Barcelona could be nearing its end after the club received enough signatures of no confidence from club members to trigger a vote.
16,521 signatures was the magic number required to issue the motion against Bartomeu, with members deeply unhappy with his running of the club and desperate for change.
The members have been collecting signatures for the past month despite the coronavirus pandemic hampering their process, and delivered them to the club for counting two weeks ago, with the process ongoing.
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Each name required verification, and the number required has been reached, far surpassing similar situations regarding Joan Laporta in 2008 and Josep Lluis Nunez in 1998.
With over 3,000 signatures still left to count, this process will be completed but there are now 20 days available to announce a referendum, where club members - known as Socios - will be asked to vote at the request of the Board of Directors.
It is a pivotal moment in the history of the club and could have ramifications for both the playing squad and in particular Ronald Koeman, who was Bartomeu's specified appointment to the position of head coach.
Leading candidate to replace Bartomeu, Jordi Farre, posted 'Objective achieved!' on his social media channels and said recently to Catalan radio:
"I think there will be no referendum and that Bartomeu and his board will resign earlier. I ask you to save yourself this bad day and leave and call elections as soon as possible."