The College of Journalists of Catalonia issued a statement this Friday where it shows its “Totally disagree” in relation to
protocol published by LaLiga
relating to the means of communication to enter the stadiums when the competition returns.
The league It limits access to just four TVs without rights, 8 photographers, 5 radios and 6 written press editors who will be the only ones who will be able to access the football stadiums in the first and second round of the League for the final stretch of the season. .
The organization that looks after the interests of the professional group of journalists considers that these limitations “They represent an attack on the right to information” and that they are not adjusted to the needs of the media, referring to those that cover matches in Catalonia, from clubs such as FC Barcelona, RCD Espanyol and Girona FC.
From the collective they hope that the LFP understands the positioning and that rectify in the decis
ion with the aim of achieving the best for everyone.
This is how the statement read:
“The College of Journalists of Catalonia is in complete disagreement with the announcement of the Professional Football League regarding the limitation of media access to football fields in matches played behind closed doors of the first and second division A .
As stated a few days ago, the College considers that all the media that regularly monitor should be able to access the sports facilities during the celebration of the matches that will take place in the coming weeks, and that due to the Coronavirus they will have to dispute behind closed doors.
The College considers that these limitations represent an attack on the right to information and that they are not adjusted to the needs of the media. We also doubt that the criterion when selecting the means that can access the stadiums should fall exclusively on the associations mentioned in the document.
The amplitude of the spaces that exist in a soccer field and the improvement of the situation of the pandemic, where many measures of return to normality are already being considered, within a framework of measures of social distance and hygiene; They are factors that allow the access of editors, photographers and audiovisual technicians (camera operators, sound technicians, etc.) to be easily applied during the celebration of the match. Obviously, the location of all of them should be done differently than is usual.
From the School we insist that actions like these should help to change situations that due to the Covid19 crisis are living in different informational areas and that sometimes, under the concept of sanitary or other security measures, are limited in excess of heaven and the access of information professionals in press conferences or events of all kinds.
We reiterate that at times like these, and as we do in other informational areas (where the rest of the informational areas), we have to ask more than ever for professionals' access to information to ensure that they can do their job in the best possible way and guarantee the right to information that any democratic society requires.
We hope that the LFP understands this position and rectifies its decision in order to achieve the best for everyone. ”