Gaspart 'happy' with Real logo

Barca chief Joan Gaspart has given his seal of approval to Real Madrid's centenary logo - because it reminds him of the Catalunya regional flag.

Barca's bitter rivals Real unveiled their birthday logo this week - on a white ground, the logo has four hand-drawn yellow rays with the words: Real Madrid 1902-2002.

"I love it," Gaspart enthused with a certain amount of irony.

"With the four yellow bands it's just like Catalunya's flag and after all, Real Madrid was founded by a group of Catalans - it's so thoughtful of them."

The dry-witted chairman would not say whether he thought his archenemies were going over the top with their plan to halt all official football matches on December 18 2002, in honour of their 100th birthday, but quipped: "I think Sant Andreu have a friendly on that day."