1 of 2 | Demonstrators, some holding Palestinian flags, disrupted the cyclists’ route on Paseo del Prado during the 21st and last stage of Vuelta Espana cycling race on Sunday. Photo by Rodrigo Jimenez/EPA
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called for Israeli athletes to be banned from international sports competitions after protestors disrupted the 21st and final leg of the Vuelta Espana cycling race Sunday.
Sanchez, a left-wing member of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, said Monday that it wasn’t fair to ban Russia but not Israel.
“Why was Russia expelled [from global sporting events] after the invasion of Ukraine, but Israel allowed to remain after the invasion of Gaza?” Sánchez asked during a meeting of party lawmakers in the Spanish parliament. “While barbarism persists, Israel cannot use international events to whitewash its presence.”
The protests happened in Madrid, where the race was set to finish this year. Police clashed with more than 100,000 demonstrators along the route. The Israeli team, Israel-Premier Tech, was the target of the demonstrators.
The team is privately owned, but Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had praised the team for “not giving in to hate and intimidation.” He said the team made Israel proud.
Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard, who led the overall classification going into the final stage, was declared the winner. But the podium ceremony was canceled because of the protests.
Sanchez was strongly criticized by his opponents for praising the protestors.
He said he hoped the events in Madrid would lead others to reconsider whether Israel should participate in major sporting events.
“I think that debate that’s begun after what happened here in Madrid yesterday should widen and spread to all corners of the world,” The Guardian reported he said on Monday.
“It’s already happening in some parts of the world, and we’ve seen how European governments are saying that as long as the barbarism continues, Israel can’t use any international platform to whitewash its presence. And I think that sports organizations need to ask themselves whether it’s ethical for Israel to keep taking part in international competitions.”
Sanchez said that his government will always reject violence and that he had admiration and respect for the cyclists in the Vuelta and “a Spanish society that mobilizes against injustice and defends its ideas in a peaceful manner.”
The 23-day Vuelta Espana, or Tour of Spain, is one of cycling’s prestigious Grand Tours. It began in 1935.
