Medmadrid.- The spokeswoman for the Spanish government, Pilar Alegr Ukrainehinting that training Israel-Premier Tech I shouldn’t run on the return.
Taking as an example the athletes and Russian teams, who are prohibited from competing in numerous disciplines under the colors of their country from the Russian offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, Alegría estimated on Wednesday night on the Radio Cadena Ser as international instances should carry out the same sanctions to the Israelis due to the war in Gaza.
“What we are living now is a massacre, it is a genocide. We are seeing children and babies starving and we carry more than 60,000 dead. It is a dramatic situation and it is important that sport manifests a position at least similar to what we saw with Russia“said Alegría, also Minister of Education and Sports.
“In this case the competences are the ICU (International Cycling Union) and the decision would have to be shared by the IOC (International Olympic Committee), as an Olympic sport that is. Faced with the situation we live, of such a serious magnitude, you have to take a position and a decision,” he said.
The Back to Spain Cycling, which must conclude on Sunday in Madrid, is being disturbed daily by proper demonstrations directed against the Israel-Premier Tech team, which has forced the organizers to cut some stages, such as in Bilbao, last week, and Pontevedra, on Tuesday.
Security measures
The team created by the Israeli-Canadian billionaire Sylvan Adams, which has a single corridor of Israeli nationality, has had to change mybot eliminating all mention to the country, “to prioritize the security” of its cyclists and the “squad set”.
But this measure has not been enough to appease the situation. Despite multiple calls to retire from the competition, the Israel-PT team maintains its intention to arrive in Madrid on Sunday.
After a day without incident, on Wednesday, the organizers announced that the counterreloj this Thursday, 27.2 km in Valladolid, would be reduced to 12.2 km for security reasons.
These protests occur in a context of great tension between Israel and Spain, one of the most critical voices in Europe about the situation in Gaza.
Pedro Sánchez’s left government acknowledged Palestine state In May 2024 and has just announced new measures destined “to put an end to genocide in Gaza”.
