TWO activists scored an embarrassing own goal after spraying an FC Barcelona store with paint in protest against a new sponsorship deal with the Democratic Republic of Congo – only to unfurl a flag of a completely different country.
The pair of protesters smothered the front of the store in a thick layer of red colouring, before holding up a banner that read, ‘FC Barcelona Genocide. Free Palestine. Free Congo’.
One of the zealots wore a shirt emblazoned with the logo of Futuro Vegetal (‘Plant Future’), a controversial eco-protest group responsible for staining Barcelona’s iconic Sagrada Familia with red powder over the weekend.
In a statement posted on social media, the activist group accused FC Barcelona of ‘complicity’ in the ‘genocide in Palestine’ due to its sponsorship arrangement with music streaming giants Spotify.
The complaints relate to Prima Materia, an investment company founded by Spotify CEO Daniel Ek that led a €600 million funding round for defence-tech company Helsing earlier this year.
However, there is no verifiable evidence that Helsing develops or supplies military technology used by the Israeli government.
Futuro Vegetal also criticised FC Barcelona for striking a four-year, €44 million back-of-shirt sponsorship deal with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“It is a shame that FC Barcelona collaborates with a government that perpetuates the cycle of violence against its own population for neo-colonial interests,” the group said.
But the protesters who targeted FC Barcelona’s store evidently failed to do their homework.
The pair unveiled the flag of the Republic of the Congo – an entirely different country.
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