Spanish nationalism is outraged by Athletic Club's new jersey

BarcelonaFew times has a football jersey generated so much noise even before going on sale. Two weeks ago, Athletic Club presented what will be their jersey for the next season. Like other clubs, they did so right at the end of the current season, debuting it in their last league match away to Real Madrid. The jersey, however, is not to everyone's liking, as the Basque club has made a small modification. In recent years, they played with a small Basque flag, the ikurriña, on the back of the neck. But for the next season, they have opted for a map with the silhouette of Euskal Herria with an ikurriña inside. The reaction of parties like Vox or UPN has caused quite a stir, especially in Navarre.

The jersey was presented with the slogan "Gure nortasuna" (Our identity, in Basque) by the club presided over by Jon Uriarte. Basque nationalism argues that their land, a fact not recognized by either the Spanish or French government, consists of the seven provinces where Basque has historically been spoken: Álava, Biscay, and Gipuzkoa, the three provinces of the community known in Spain as the Basque Country, Navarre, and three provinces under French control: Lower Navarre (Nafarroa Beherea), Labourd, and Soule. In Navarre, a good part of the population identifies with the concept of Euskal Herria, but another part, especially south of Pamplona, does not. Thus, the party Unión del Pueblo Navarro (UPN) has initiated a campaign to get them to ban Athletic Club from wearing this jersey. Its president, Cristina Ibarrola, has already sent a letter to the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, Rafael Louzán; to the club president, Jon Uriarte, and the president of Navarre, María Chivite, asking that the map of Euskal Herria be removed from the jersey. Furthermore, they have filed a complaint with the Competition Committee of the Spanish Federation and have threatened to go to ordinary justice if necessary.

Ibarrola has complained because he believes that Athletic Club "incorporates a message of a political nature, identitarian and institutionally controversial, by projecting a certain territorial conception that includes the Chartered Community of Navarre within a political reality alien to its legal, administrative, institutional, and political framework." The Navarrese party bases its written complaint on Rule 4.5 of IFAB, the body that regulates the laws of football, which restricts political messages on footballers' attire, and on various articles of the RFEF Competition Regulations. Other parties, such as PP and Vox, have also complained, especially in Navarre. The Vox delegation in Navarre, in fact, responded to the club's tweet announcing the jersey with a message that read "Athletic de Bilbao, the club where the appreciation for ETA nests." The spokesperson for the Vox parliamentary group in Castile and León, Carlos Pollán, has denounced this jersey before the Superior Council of Sports.

These groups also presented two proposals in the Parliament of Navarre to make an institutional declaration against the jersey. UPN's proposal received votes in favor from PP and Vox, while the Socialist Party abstained and the EH Bildu, Geroa Bai, and Contigo-Zurekin groups voted against it, which led to the proposal being rejected.

The club has not wanted to respond to the criticisms received, even though sources from the entity have explained to the Basque press that it is a claim of their football identity. The club normally uses the expression Euskal Herria, both on social media and with a flag that often appears in the stadium where you can read "Made in Euskal Herria". What Athletic Club has done is hang a photo of the jersey on the day of its premiere, worn by the player Robert Navarro, an act that was understood as a subliminal way of remembering that someone from Navarre would be part of Euskal Herria.

The former Athletic Club and Barça player Iñigo Martínez was one of those who publicly positioned himself with a message on social media that read "the seven united, even if many don't like it", and he used the expression "Zazpiak Bat", which refers to the seven Basque provinces.

In Catalonia, estelades have been banned

This season, the Spanish Basketball Federation (FEB) did not allow Sol Gironès Bisbal Bàsquet, a team from Segunda FEB, the third state category, to play with their usual jersey, as it had an estelada on the front. “We play basketball, but we also promote language, country, and sport. The design of our jersey is a symbol of our club's identity, but the FEB is relying on an anti-violence regulation from the sports law where the estelada is considered a violent symbol. We don't understand it. Furthermore, the estelada appears with our colors, so we could discuss the legality of this decision,” said Joan Ferrer, the club's sporting director.