The cold, harsh light of reality has dawned on Barça president Josep Maria Bartomeu. For the last three weeks, a committee of scrutineers at Futbol Club Barcelona has been carefully counting and validating the names of club members who called for a no-confidence vote on the Catalan football club's board. It's taken a while but now the magic number - 16,521 - has been reached. Thus, dissatisfaction with the club's current management is now sufficient to force a general referendum on the issue in which over 100,000 culers with voting rights would be able to give their verdict on Bartomeu and his board. But in fact, the new situation means that a range of possible scenarios open up for the future of the Barça club: the resignation of Bartomeu, the appointment of new directors, intervention by a club management committee and, last but not least, the referendum which 16,521 members have backed.
Resignation of Bartomeu and the whole board
The members have spoken and have opted - in impressive numbers - for new management at Can Barça. Time is running out for Bartomeu and his board and resignation en bloc is a possibility. If the board resigns, there would be no referendum and a management committee from within the club would take over this month to take charge until new elections are held.
Bartomeu during a presentation / Sergi Alcàzar
Intervention by the management committee
The management committee would replace the current board should board vacancies reach more than 50% of total board members, including the chairman; should vacancies reach 75% of board members, without the chairman; or whenever there are fewer than five board members left. So say the rules.
The president of this management committee, according to the statutes, would normally be the current president of the club's economic committee - that is, businessperson Carles Tusquets. And its main function would be to call an election to form a new board of directors. The deadline for this goal would be three months, which would mean bringing forward the club elections - already scheduled for 20th-21st March - to the month of January.
Barça's shiled on the Palau Blaugrana / Europa Press
Resignation of Bartomeu or some directors
Another possibility is for Bartomeu, or some of his managers, to resign before the referendum, but for a sufficient quorum of the rest to continue. If that happens, there would have to be a new president, who predictably could be Jordi Cardoner (current first vice president), and/or replacement board members. For the Barça board to continue in its functions, there must be a minimum of 14 members, which is the number there are at present.
Facing the referendum
The last option is that neither Bartomeu nor his board will want to resign and will therefore face the referendum that would be held at the end of this month of October or beginning of November. If so, it would be the third to be held in Barça's history. Neither of the previous two have successfuly deposed a board.
Bartomeu together with Moix and Cardoner / EFE
The referendum, presented as a vote of no-confidence in Bartomeu and his board, will only be successful if 66.7% or more of voters opt for no-confidence, with at least 10% of total club members taking part. These figures were not reached in 1997 (Josep Lluís Núñez) or 2008 (Joan Laporta).
One of the big unknowns is whether the referendum can even be held right now in the midst of a pandemic. In the Spanish state, there have been elections held in Galicia and the Basque Country in recent months, but it will be the Catalan government that will have the last word on whether, given public health requirements, the Barça vote can go ahead.