The demonstrations that forced the suspension of the final stage of the return to Spain of cycling They have generated numerous reactions and exacerbated political confrontation in that European nation. Pedro Sánchez said that “sports organizations must consider whether it is ethical for Israel to continue participating in international competitions.”
Thousands of people – some sources speak of about 100 thousand – took the streets of Madrid to protest the presence of a team of Israel In the race, while the government of that country maintains the genocide against the Palestinian population in the strip of Loop, Which has already caused death to more than 64 thousand civilians, a good part of them women, elders and children.
PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTECTERS BLOCKED THE ROUTE OF THE RETURN TO SPANA BICYCLE RACE, CASING THE FINAL STAGE OF THE RACE TO BE ABANDONED 60 KILOMETERS BEFORE THE FINISH LINE. The Protesters oppose The Israel-Premier Tech Team Taking Part In The Conct. pic.twitter.com/fzex4rdjgp
– DW News (@DwNews) SEPTEMBER 15, 2025
This Monday the director of the test, Javier Guillén, described the chaos lived during the closure of the return in the center of the Spanish capital as “an unfortunate image” and “condemned” what happened.
“The images speak for themselves. It is unacceptable what happened, especially in the circuit. Nothing good is taken from what happened. I regret the image that occurred, and that cannot be repeated,” said Guillén, said aforementioned by the agency EFE.
Israeli team participation
The manager ratified that it was not in the hands of the organizers to take measures on the participation of the Israeli cast from the great incident that occurred in Bilbao, when stage 11 of the layout was held.
“With the ICU (International Cycling Union) we talked to analyze the events. They were asked to take a position and made a statement to keep Israel in the race. We have guided ourselves for their criteria, in accordance with regulations,” he said.
To save responsibility, he mentioned that “there is no federation that has vetoed Israel. From the international point of view, no institution has vetoed Israeli athletes.”
“We stayed neutral. We said there was a problem and decided from the ICU what had to be done. They said Israel could run and the team has run. The team also decided to continue,” he said.
Guillén does not expect the incidents of the return to lead to an effect called for other competitions and stressed the “vulnerability of cycling”, especially considering that next year’s Tour of France will have its departure from Barcelona.
“I don’t know what will happen in the future, but we will work to get the way forward … From this return, institutions and cycling will have to make decisions. The return has been an element to stop and reflect. From here to the tour, hopefully everything is solved, even the conflict of Gaza,” he concluded.
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Shock between matches
What happened in Madrid during the last stretch of the Tour of Spain has contributed to stating the political confrontation in the country, even more after the president of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, expressed words of support to the protesters.
Sánchez, one of the few European leaders who has called a genocide to what has happened for months in Gaza, expressed “respect and recognition to athletes”, while “admiration for a Spanish people who mobilize for fair causes such as Palestine.”
The leader of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) at the head of the Executive went further, and defended the exclusion of Israeli teams from international sports competitions, just as Russia was done with Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, highlights the Spanish newspaper The country.
“The debate that has been opened about what happened in Madrid, in Spain, should grow and reach all corners of the world. It is already happening, we have seen how European governments are saying that as long as the barbarism lasts the barbarism that Israel cannot use any international platform to bleach its presence. Sports organizations must consider whether it is ethical that Israel continues to participate in international competitions,” he said.
Sánchez has thus responded to the accusations since the opposition that have been responsible for “inducing” the protests and “encouraged” acts of protests that have put people at risk.
Alberto Núñez Feijóo, president of the Popular Party (PP) said shortly after the facts that “the president of the Government is responsible for the acts of violence that could be ashamed of any country.”
In addition, he considered that “freedom of expression and manifestation is legitimate,” but called not to confuse it with a boycott that puts people’s lives at risk, “something that described as” political violence. “
To balance the position of his party against the massacre that executes the Israel army on the Palestinian people, Núñez Feijóo said that “you can repudiate what happens in Gaza without falling into anti -Semitism and be congratulated by a terrorist group.”
