Barcelona’s ambitious Spotify Camp Nou renovation has hit a snag, as labor authorities revealed that 79 Turkish workers were employed without proper documentation. The Catalan Labor Inspectorate imposed a fine of 1.09 million euros on Extreme Works, a subcontractor linked to Turkish construction giant Limak, which is overseeing the stadium’s €1.5 billion Espai Barça project.
The investigation, triggered by complaints from the Spanish union Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) and Turkish union DİSK Dev Yapı İş in September 2025, uncovered workers who had been on site for months without work permits. Many had begun their jobs immediately upon arriving in Barcelona, without contracts or safety briefings, and reported working up to 300 hours per month – well above legal limits.
“We were cheated, when they brought us here they told us that everything was arranged, that everything would be legal and it was not,” one worker told local media. “If we had known, we would not have come.”
According to union reports, 14 workers were dismissed in early November after seeking support from the unions and participating in protests. Many of the affected workers remain in Spain, protesting near the stadium and demanding reinstatement, unpaid wages, and enrollment in the country’s social security system.
The Camp Nou project involves a complex subcontracting chain, which labor officials say has hindered oversight and allowed responsibility to shift between companies. Catalonia’s Labor Inspectorate has already opened 218 separate investigations into irregularities since construction began in June 2023, issuing fines totaling over €1.87 million before the most recent sanction.
Beyond labor violations, health concerns have also emerged. Barcelona’s public health authorities recently launched an inquiry after a worker tested positive for tuberculosis, testing 23 co-workers and monitoring additional potential cases.
FC Barcelona has emphasized that subcontractors are responsible for worker conditions but has not commented on the specific allegations regarding undocumented labor or excessive hours. Authorities are expected to release a final report in the coming weeks, which could influence stricter oversight of subcontractors on one of Europe’s largest stadium renovations.
CCOO and DİSK Dev Yapı İş have pledged to continue coordinating across Spain and Turkey until affected workers obtain legal status and protection, underlining the ongoing challenges of managing international labor in large-scale construction projects.
