Spain’s top football league warned yesterday that Barcelona will be barred from La Liga if Catalonia becomes independent from Spain.

La Liga president Javier Tebas said that Catalan clubs will not be allowed to play in the league if the north-eastern region breaks away following a contentious referendum planned for October 1.

Tebas said that a deal to keep Barcelona in La Liga would not be as simple as most people may think, and the club would be stuck playing in a Catalan league which “wouldn’t be much better than the Dutch league or something like that.”

Tebas, an outspoken critic of Catalan independence, said Barcelona would also not earn as much from the sale of TV rights and “certainly won’t remain one of the top clubs in Europe.”

An amicable separation of Catalonia from Spain — unlikely to ever happen — wouldn’t pose any many problems as a unilateral breakaway.

The Spanish government and constitutional court have both told the Catalans not to go through with their referendum, the second in three years. The court said that only the central government has the power to call such a vote, and that every Spaniard must be allowed to take part.

“I’m concerned about Barcelona’s future if independence happens,” said Tebas, who is often criticised by Barcelona fans and players for taking what they call pro-Real Madrid stances.

Spanish law only allows teams in Spain to play in the league, plus those from the statelet of Andorra between Spain and France. Barcelona would therefore have to have the Madrid parliament pass a law letting it back into the league.