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<\/p>\nSpanish Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez on Tuesday called for Israel to be banned from sports events after pro-Palestinian activists disrupted the end of the Spanish Vuelta cycling race in chaotic scenes in Madrid.<\/p>\n
Israel’s foreign minister responded by calling S\u00e1nchez an “antisemite and a liar”.<\/p>\n
Tensions between the countries have escalated in recent weeks as Spain’s left-wing government expressed support for protesters who interrupted several stages of the Vuelta, including Monday’s final stage in Madrid, because an Israeli team was taking part.<\/p>\n
Speaking to members of his Socialist Party, S\u00e1nchez said Israel, just like Russia, should not be allowed to compete in international sports because of its military campaign in Gaza.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sports organisations should consider whether it\u2019s ethical for Israel to keep participating in international competitions. Why expel Russia after the invasion of Ukraine and not expel Israel after the invasion of Gaza?\u201d Sanchez said. \u201cUntil the barbarity ends, neither Russia nor Israel should be in any international competition.”<\/p>\n
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Protesters block the road in an attempt to disrupt the twenty-first stage of the Spanish cycling race La Vuelta, from Alalpardo to Madrid, Spain, Sunday, September 14, 2025. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
S\u00e1nchez spoke a day after the Vuelta finale was cut short when pro-Palestinian protesters opposing the participation of Israeli team Israel Premier Tech threw barriers onto the road and clashed with police near the finish line. Authorities said two people were arrested and 22 were injured, none of them seriously.<\/p>\n
The Spanish Government had already expressed sympathy with the protesters and suggested the Israeli Premier Tech team should have withdrawn from the three-week-long race that became a diplomatic battleground.<\/p>\n
The team removed its name from its uniforms but remained in the race to the end.<\/p>\n
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar criticised S\u00e1nchez with a post on X that included a video link to the Spanish leader’s speech on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn antisemite and a liar,\u201d Saar wrote. \u201cDid Israel invade Gaza on October 7th or did the Hamas terror state invade Israel and commit the worst massacre against the Jews since the Holocaust?”<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Protesters block the road in an attempt to disrupt the twenty-first stage of the Spanish cycling race La Vuelta, from Alalpardo to Madrid, Spain, Sunday, September 14, 2025. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. There are 48 hostages remaining in Gaza, and Israel believes 20 are still alive.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians according to Gaza\u2019s Health Ministry, which doesn\u2019t say how many were civilians or combatants. The offensive has displaced most of Gaza’s 2 million people, caused widespread destruction and severe hunger.<\/p>\n
As the war has ground on, Israel has grown increasingly isolated, with Spain at the forefront of a growing list of European countries increasingly critical of Israel due to the heavy civilian toll. Countries including the UK and France have said they plan on recognising a Palestinian state, and the European Commission president has called for scaling back Europe\u2019s trade ties with Israel.<\/p>\n
Europe remains divided on its stance toward Israel, and its limited sanctions and condemnations so far have had little effect.<\/p>\n
Madrid\u2019s conservative mayor, Jos\u00e9 Luis Mart\u00ednez-Almeida, also criticised S\u00e1nchez and described Monday\u2019s events as a sad day for the Spanish capital.<\/p>\n
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Protesters block the road in an attempt to disrupt the twenty-first stage of the Spanish cycling race La Vuelta, from Alalpardo to Madrid, Spain, Sunday, September 14, 2025. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard, who was leading the overall classification going into the final stage, was declared the winner of the Vuelta, but the customary podium ceremony was cancelled.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a pity that such a moment of eternity was taken from us,\u201d Vingegaard said. \u201cEveryone has the right to protest, but not in a way that influences or endangers our race.\u201d<\/p>\n
The teams reportedly improvised a private podium ceremony so riders could celebrate.<\/p>\n
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen condemned the protesters for \u201cspoiling\u201d the race and criticised S\u00e1nchez for \u201cpraising\u201d the protests.<\/p>\n
The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including a record run for Geordie Beamish at the world champs, the most expensive place to rent isn\u2019t Auckland or Wellington, and Trump might save TikTok. (Source: Breakfast)<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead, I want to praise the athletes and everyone who doesn’t spoil things for others,\u201d she wrote on Instagram.<\/p>\n
Vuelta race director Javier Guill\u00e9n defended letting the Israeli team stay in the race.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Vuelta\u2019s position was clear, we had to abide by the norms of the International Cycling Union. It\u2019s the UCI that regulates the right of admission to the race,\u201d Guill\u00e9n said at a news conference on. \u201cWe never got into any other type of debate. All we wanted to do was to be able to finish the race with normalcy, and that wasn\u2019t possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Protesters block the road in an attempt to disrupt the twenty-first stage of the Spanish cycling race La Vuelta, from Alalpardo to Madrid, Spain, Sunday, September 14, 2025. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
The UCI expressed “its total disapproval of and deep concern about the events that marked\u201d the Vuelta. It also said it \u201cstrongly condemns the exploitation of sport for political purposes in general, and especially coming from a government\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also regret the fact that the Spanish Prime Minister and his government have supported actions that could hinder the smooth running of a sporting competition and, in some cases, expressed their admiration for the demonstrators.<\/p>\n
“This position is contradictory to the Olympic values of unity, mutual respect, and peace. It also calls into question Spain’s ability to host major international sporting events, ensuring that they take place in safe conditions and in accordance with the principles of the Olympic Charter.\u201d<\/p>\n
The central government\u2019s representative for the Madrid region said an estimated 100,000 people were on the streets during the protests. The number could not be independently verified.<\/p>\n
Guill\u00e9n said the Vuelta protests would likely have implications for future sports events with Israeli participants.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter this Vuelta, the international entities will need to make decisions and cycling will need to have some internal discussions to find solutions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Next year\u2019s Tour de France begins with a stage in Barcelona.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully, everything will be solved by then,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to speculate with any possibilities. I\u2019m sure Barcelona will have a great Tour de France.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Spanish Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez on Tuesday called for Israel to be banned from sports events after pro-Palestinian…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":146095,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,72415,12241,85,98898],"class_list":["post-146094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cycling","tag-israel-gaza-conflict","tag-middle-east","tag-sports","tag-uk-europe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146094"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146094\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/146095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}