Spanish PM calls for Israel ban after chaos at cycling

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called for Israel to be banned from sports events, while Norway is donating money from a football match to support Gaza.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called for Israel to be banned from sports events after pro-Palestinian activists disrupted the final stage of the Spanish Vuelta cycling race in chaotic scenes in Madrid.

Speaking to members of his Socialist Party on Monday, Sánchez said Israel, just like Russia, should not be allowed to compete in international sports events because of its military campaign in Gaza.

“The sports organisations should consider whether it’s 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?” Sanchez said.

“Until the barbarity ends, neither Russia nor Israel should be in any international competition.”

Sánchez spoke a day after Sunday’s final stage of the Vuelta 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 in the Spanish capital.

Authorities said two people were arrested and 22 were injured, none of them seriously.

Spain’s left-wing government had already expressed sympathy with the protesters and suggested that the Israel Premier Tech team should have withdrawn from the three-week-long race that became a diplomatic battleground.

The team removed its name from its uniforms but remained in the race until the end despite protesters’ calls for it to be expelled.

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.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen condemned the protesters for “spoiling” the race and criticised Sanchez for “praising” the protests.

“Instead I want to praise the athletes and everyone who doesn’t spoil things for others,” she wrote on Instagram.

Vuelta race director Javier Guillén on Monday defended the decision to let the Israeli team stay in the race.

The central government’s 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.

Also on Monday, the Norwegian Football Association announced it had pledged money raised from ticket sales at a sold-out Norway-Israel qualifying game for the 2026 World Cup to Doctors Without Borders.

Likely to be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, the donation was gifted to the NGO to assist with relief work on the ground in Gaza, the soccer body said.

Israel – which has played in European soccer competitions for security reasons since joining UEFA in 1994 – has faced almost no pressure within the sport to be suspended or have games boycotted since the conflict in Gaza escalated in October 2023.

Russia was suspended from international soccer after the February 2022 full invasion of Ukraine because so many UEFA member federations refused to face Russian opponents.

“As a member of FIFA and UEFA,” Norwegian FA Lise Klaveness said at a news conference, her federation “has to deal with Israel participating in their competitions.”

“At the same time, we cannot and will not be indifferent to the humanitarian suffering that is taking place in the region, especially the disproportionate attacks against civilians in Gaza.”

AP