BARCELONA: Tens of thousands of demonstrators including Pep Guardiola, the revered former manager of Barcelona’s football club, rallied in the city on Sunday to support the Catalonia independence referendum called for October 1.

Carles Puigdemont, leader of Catalonia’s regional government, defied Madrid on Friday by setting a date for a binding vote even though the referendum has been ruled illegal by Spain’s Constitutional Court.

“We will vote, even if the Spanish state doesn’t want it,” Guardiola told the crowd speaking in Catalan, Spanish and English. “There is no other way; the only possible response is to vote,” he added.

As Puigdemont looked on, Guardiola also spoke calling for the international community’s support against “the abuses of an authoritarian state”.

While Barcelona authorities estimated the turnout at around 30,000 people, a separatist source put the figure at 47,000.

“I think independence is the only solution,” Ramon Fon, a retired 67-year-old at the rally, said.

“I want the referendum as a first step, and if the majority shares my opinion, then to win independence,” he said, the starred flag of Catalonia draped across his shoulders.

The latest regional government poll found that 73 per cent of Catalans were in favour of holding a referendum similar to the one held by Scotland in 2014 — though that one had the approval of the British government.

But the same poll found that 48.5pc of respondents opposed independence, with 44.3pc in favour.

Published in Dawn, June 12th, 2017