LIVE UPDATES: Catalonia votes for independence amid violent attempts to thwart referendum

With the referendum declared illegal by Madrid, special police units drafted in from across Spain broke into polling stations at dawn to seize ballot boxes.

To avoid retribution, officials covered their faces.

At many polling stations, crowds had already gathered to cast their votes. The arrival of anti-riot police and the civil guard ignited heated confrontations.

Police responded with rubber bullets and truncheons, forcibly moving protesters who attempted to occupy the voting stations. More than 840 people were treated for injuries across Catalonia.

The plan failed to foil the referendum, as Catalonian authorities said 73 percent of all polling stations remained open. Queues formed around blocks and in public squares.

To avoid escalating an already inflamed situation, and in support of Catalonia's right to express their will freely, FC Barcelona, a pillar of the region’s identity, played its league match against Las Palmas behind closed doors, while crowds outside and all around the city resembled those at a football match. Barca won 3-0.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy cut a lonely figure with a farcical declaration that "no referendum has been held in Catalonia today," 600 km away in Madrid.

Over 90 percent of those able to vote supported independence, with over 2,2 million ballots cast in total, excluding those that were seized during police raids on polling stations.

The local government said it's poised to declare their independence in according with the results of the vote, deepening the split with Madrid.