Basque, Catalan Leaders Want International Soccer (Update1)
By Alex Duff
Oct. 9 (Bloomberg) -- The leaders of the governments of Catalonia and the
Basque Country renewed calls for the two Spanish regions to play
international soccer as their teams met for the first time in 32 years.
The teams drew 2-2 in an exhibition game at Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium
before a 53,000 crowd yesterday.
``It's more than a game between friends,'' Juan Jose Ibarretxe, president of
the Basque government, told reporters, according to the Barcelona team Web
site. ``There's a clear request behind this that we want our own team.''
In February 2005, the Spanish parliament rejected Ibarretxe's plan to hold a
regional referendum on giving the Basque Country more autonomy. The plan
included a proposal for the region to have its own soccer team. The area of
northern Spain already controls its own police force, education system and
tax collection.
``Wales and Scotland have their own soccer teams -- why shouldn't
Catalonia?'' Artur Mas, leader of Catalonia's biggest nationalist party,
told TV station Telecinco today.
Ibarretxe and Pascual Maragall, president of the Catalan government, watched
yesterday's game together. Both want more regional powers from Spain.
``Participating in competitions is a step we have to make,'' Maragall said.
Spain's parliament in March approved a plan to allow Catalonia, a region of
north-east Spain that accounts for about 20 percent of the national $1
trillion economy, to retain more tax revenue among other concessions.
`No Plan'
``There's no plan at the moment'' to ask European soccer's ruling body UEFA
for membership, Joseba Garcia Bengoetxea, a Basque government spokesman,
said in a phone interview today. Albert Mayol, a spokesman on sport for the
Catalan government, wasn't immediately available for comment.
Some spectators at yesterday's game waved banners with separatist messages
and a photograph in today's Marca newspaper showed two setting fire to a
Spanish flag. The Madrid-based sports daily described the match as a
``political meeting.''
The opposition People's Party condemned the game. It was ``an act against
Spain,'' Angel Acebes, general secretary, told the Cadena Cope radio station
today, adding that it was only of interest to a ``minority'' of the
population.
The Basque and Catalan teams usually play exhibition games against foreign
national teams. The Basques lost 1-0 to Wales in May, while Catalonia lost
5-2 to Brazil in 2004.
Gibraltar
The renewed calls to play competitive games come as Spain tries to block
Gibraltar's bid to play international competitions as a member of UEFA. A
decision whether to grant provisional membership to the U.K. colony was
postponed four days ago. Spain wants sovereignty of the peninsula of 30,000
inhabitants off its south coast.
In 2001, UEFA rejected Gibraltar's bid to enter European competitions by
amending its statutes to make membership only open to independent states --
a condition that would block the aspirations of the leaders of Catalonia and
the Basque Country.
The Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for Sport on July 6 ruled UEFA
must allow provisional membership to Gibraltar under its pre-2001 statutes,
as the territory applied before that date.
To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Duff in Madrid at
[EMAIL PROTECTED] .
*Last Updated: October 9, 2006 10:29 EDT*
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