FC Barcelona's first-ever mixed flight ended in
controversy as the men’s football team flew in
business class while the women’s team sat in
economy on their way to Portland, Oregon.
The first mixed tour in the history of the
renowned Spanish football club was tainted by a
social media uproar after users noticed that
women were not given the same seating priority
as the men.
The club’s vice-president Josep Vives said the
difference in seating arrangement was not
intentional.
“At the beginning, the women’s team was not
supposed to come to the US tour — it’s a
logistics problem,†he explained in a statement.
When it was decided that the female team would
join the men’s team in the US, there weren’t
enough business seats left for everyone, he
added.
Vives emphasised that all seats in the airplane
offered the same comfort and that in future
flights while on tour, both teams would fly in
business class.
Maria Teixidor, who’s at the head of FC
Barcelona's women’s team, said that the efforts
the club puts into developing women’s football
should not be overlooked because her team sat
in economy class.
In 2012, the Japanese female football team sat
in economy class while the men's team flew in
business class during a trip to Europe.