The Spanish government's anti-violence commission has asked Barcelona to identify the 200 fans seen on video singing songs calling Cristiano Ronaldo "a drunk" during Sunday's 5-0 La Liga win over Levante at the Camp Nou.
As part of a widespread crackdown on anti-social behaviour by ultra groups, the La Liga authorities asked the government body to punish the offending Blaugrana supporters, who were referring to Real Madrid attacker Ronaldo having celebrated his 30th birthday on the night his team were humbled 4-0 at Atletico Madrid.
The government body -- the State Commission Against Violence, Racism, Xenophobia and Intolerance in Sport -- confirmed the request had been made to Barcelona in a statement following its weekly meeting in Madrid.
"In relation to the reports and audio and video documents, presented by the LFP [Liga de Futbol Profesional], which include insulting songs sang by a group of fans belonging to the 'Almogavers' group, the commission has decided to request that FC Barcelona, and those responsible for security at the game, identify the authors of the acts and to proceed to the proposal for the appropriate punishment," the statement read.
Barca vice president Javier Faus has said his club will do everything possible to aid the investigation, although it remains to be seen if the 200 individuals involved can be successfully identified.
"Almogavers" issued their own statement saying they as a group have nothing to do with what happened, as individuals from different penas join in the official Camp Nou "animation zone" behind the stadium's south goal.
The crackdown on ultra groups is being led by La Liga president Javier Tebas, and began after last year's death of a Deportivo La Coruna supporter during fighting with Atletico fans before a league match on Nov. 30. That led to a push to break links between radical supporters' groups and clubs by eliminating all forms of anti-social behaviour from the game.
Followers of clubs including Madrid, Barcelona, Deportivo, Rayo Vallecano and Granada have previously been cited by the LFP for such offensive chanting, but no direct punishments for songs or chants have yet been imposed.
The clubs themselves can act unilaterally, with Madrid taking away the season tickets of individuals caught on camera insulting Lionel Messi during a game against Celta Vigo in December.
The government body do regularly take action when there is direct evidence of a specific law being broken, and its most recent report also included a fine of 3,500 euros and a six-month ban from any sporting stadium for a fan who displayed a neo-Nazi symbol during Madrid's 2-0 win over Deportivo at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu last weekend.
Other clubs' fans were also hit with fines and bans for a variety of offences, including wearing a scarf showing a neo-Nazi symbol and throwing a glass bottle at opposition fans (Espanyol), attempting to enter the stadium carrying a knife (Athletic Bilbao) and insulting security staff (Rayo Vallecano).