The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will decide on Friday, December 19, whether it has jurisdiction to arbitrate the appeal filed by the Spanish Pelota Federation against the International Federation and the Basque Federation, alleging "formal irregularities" in the assembly that accepted the Basque Country as a full member. On September 11, the Lausanne-based body held a virtual hearing lasting more than five hours with all parties involved. The three judges appointed to the case, from Belgium, Paraguay, and Spain, gathered all the relevant information. The decision is causing concern among the Spanish right and far right, who have been uneasy for months. "The Basque Country is as Spanish as Murcia, Andalusia, or Ceuta," says Jacobo Robatto, a Vox deputy. "The fact that regional teams can play international matches is political and economic corruption," declares Vicente Azpitarte, a PP senator. "The government is negotiating with the sports law, authorizing regional teams to compete outside of or alongside the Spanish national team," warns Cuca Gamarra, a PP deputy.

"The government's partners have smelled blood and will destroy Spanish sport to further their interests." The entry of the Basque Pelota Federation of the Basque Country (FPVE) into the International Federation (FIPV), approved on December 28 during an assembly held in Pamplona, has set off alarm bells among the Spanish nationalists, who have launched a legal and media campaign to try to overturn the decision. The statement by Borja Sémper, spokesperson for the PP, sums up the panic of a segment of society that, until two days ago, was unaware of the sport's existence. The newspaper Brand brought the topic to its front page, but got confused and illustrated the information with baseballs.