Court orders withdrawal of advert for Catalan sports teams

A Barcelona court has ordered the provisional withdrawal of a television advertisement in support of separate Catalan sports teams because of its use of children.

The controversial advert, which is paid for by the Platform for Catalan Sports Teams, shows a boy wearing the red shirt of Spain refusing to allow another, who has donned the national colours of Catalonia, to join in a game of football.

The advert ends with the excluded child taking off his shirt and the words "a nation" superimposed on his chest and "a national team" above the fluttering shirt.

The court ruled that the advertising campaign could encourage discrimination between young people and that "it is necessary to be careful and sensitive in relation to such messages."

Catalan nationalists have demanded separate representation for the region in international sports competitions but Spain has resisted such calls.

Catalonia does have its own soccer team which usually plays at least one friendly against a national side each year but it does not have separate representation in international competition.