The violent gangs brought more unrest to the heart of the city after the turbulent last week and a half following an illegal independence referendum marred by police assaults on voters.
Today’s violence happened after rival right-wing groups linked to up to three different football teams thought to be from Catalonia, Madrid and Valencia, attacked each other at the Zurich Cafe in central Barcelona.
The incidents happened after a peaceful demonstration timed to coincide with Hispanic Day called by pro-union group Societat Civil Catalana, which also organized a massive anti-independence demonstration on Sunday in Barcelona.
Astonishing footage showed the thugs, some armed with Spanish flags, hurling chairs at each other before violent close-quarter encounters with their feet and fists.
A police officer who tried to break up the fighting was said to have been slightly injured.
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Around 20 people involved in the violence, were formally identified by officers.
Regional Mossos d’Esquadra police are probing what sparked the ugly scenes, although initial reports pointed to a confrontation between rival groups of football hooligans who had previously marched to show their opposition to Catalan independence.
The bar terrace was completely destroyed in the incidents around midday and had to be closed.
Last week in Barcelona pro and anti-independence supporters fought each other on the streets of an affluent neighborhood of the city after a chance meeting following a protest strike by those who favour separation from the rest of Spain.
On Monday far right-wing supporters attacked pro-independence campaigners who had joined trade unionists and other left-wing activists on a march in Valencia to celebrate the region’s National Day.
Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy has warned Catalan president Carles Puigdemont all or part of the region’s autonomy will be suspended in days unless he clarifies if he has declared independence.
Puigdemont fudged the issue in a speech before the Catalan Parliament on Wednesday where radical pro-independence supporters hoped he would immediately declare Catalonia was going it alone following the unauthorized October 1 referendum vote.
Several companies based in Barcelona have reacted to the independence push by moving their HQs elsewhere.
There have also been reports of tourists cancelling hotel bookings.
The terrace of Cafe Zurich – in Plaza Catalunya in the heart of Barcelona – is a popular meeting place for locals and visitors alike.
Hispanic Day – a Bank Holiday in Spain – commemorates the anniversary of the date Christopher Columbus first set foot in the Americas in 1492 and is marked by a military parade in Madrid attended by the country’s King and senior politicians including the Prime Minister.
Societat Civil Catalana last night condemned the latest episode of violence in a tweet and said it had nothing to do with the peaceful march they organized.