Barcelona would not be allowed to play in La Liga if Catalonia broke away from Spain, the country’s football league chief Javier Tebas said as tensions mounted in the region over the possibility of an independence referendum next month.

Barca’s role in pushing the Catalan nationalist cause varies depending on the board in power, but it always plays a central role in cultural life.

The present board have taken a back-seat role in the heated debate currently taking place in the region about whether to hold an independence referendum on November 9.

Catalan independence would clearly impact on the future of Barca, who, along with Real Madrid, are the major powerhouses of the Spanish game with support throughout the country.

In the event that Barca did leave La Liga then it would severely weaken the image of the competition at home and abroad.

“If Catalonia became independent, taking into consideration the Sports Law that would be enforced by the rest of Spain, Barcelona wouldn’t be allowed to play,” Tebas, the president of the LFP, told a sports conference in Bar-celona, yesterday.

“There would have to be a change in the law made in the Spanish Parliament.

“Clearly if it happened then it would be detrimental for Spanish football to lose Barca who are an historic club.”