Oyazarbal, who scored the winning goal for Spain at the European Championship, is the target of protests by the Basque community; Mikel Merino was also called a traitor
A Spain was champion of Euro Cup last Sunday (14) when hitting the England by a score of 2 to 1, with a saving goal by Mikel Oyarzabal near the end of the match. The team landed on Monday morning in Madrid to celebrate the title with the Spanish fans. Meanwhile, in Basque country the author of the title goal and Merino were targets of demonstrations by separatists in the region.
In the Basque language, a message made direct reference to the two players, calling them traitors. One of the posters read “No to Spanish assimilation“, in repudiation of the athletes who competed in the competition. Just below, the names of the midfielder and the left winger with the words “traitors” and a swastika.
The base of the Spanish team, which has always had mostly athletes from Real Madrid and Barcelonathis time was a minority. Only 7 of the 23 players are from one of these teams, while Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbaoboth from the Basque Country, provided 8 players. In addition, three athletes were absolute starters in the victorious campaign of the Spanish team: defenders Robin Le Normand and Aymeric Laporte and goalkeeper Unai Simón.
Arnaldo Otegigeneral coordinator of the separatist group EH Bildu, said today that he would never celebrate a victory for the Spanish team as he does not feel represented by them. “It’s not my team, it’s not my king and it’s not my anthem”, said Otegi, in direct reference to King Felipe VI of Spain, who was present at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin last Sunday.
Source: sportbuzz
I am William Jackson and I have a passion for sports journalism. With over 3 years of experience in the industry, I have worked in a variety of roles to improve the quality and accuracy of sports news coverage. As an author at Athletistic, I specialize in covering football news and providing comprehensive analysis for fans around the world.
