Barcelona are to appeal against a two-match stadium ban handed to them following unruly scenes during the recent match against Real Madrid.

‘Under no circumstances do we accept the decision and we are going to appeal,’ the club’s president Joan Gaspart said.

The Spanish Football Federation ordered the closure of the Nou Camp for two games and fined the club œ2,700 for the incidents that held up the Spanish league game against Real for almost 15 minutes.

The Barcelona president claimed that the decision to close the Nou Cammp was influenced by the Madrid-based media.

‘The enormous media pressure has resulted in an unjust decision. The committee’s decision was heavily influenced by the pressure from the Madrid press.

‘We will appeal and are confident in the strength of our arguments, although we have decided we will not resort to the courts to overturn the decision.’

The match was held up when referee Luis Medina Cantalejo took the players off the pitch after Reall’s former Barcelona player, Luis Figo, was subjected to a barrage of missiles from the home fans.