The Spanish Pelota Federation has issued a statement this Thursday in which it assures that it will go to justice due to the “nationalist outrage” carried out by the Basque federation. This body, on December 28, received permission from the International Federation to compete as an independent team, which could cause Spain and the Basque Country to face each other as rivals. This event is due to the Sports Law published in 2022 by the Government of Pedro Sanchezwhich allowed some autonomous communities to have their own team in certain sports, such as surfing or Basque pelota itself. This is the statement of complaint from the Spanish federation.
«The Spanish Pelota Federation has decided to take a firm step and has agreed to initiate legal actions that it will take after the events arising from the Assembly of the International Basque Pelota Federation (FIPV) held on December 28, in a procedure that he calls completely flawed and adopted under an irregular and opaque procedure.
The president of the Management Board, Julián García Angulo states that ‘the assembly agreements adopted will be appealed both before the ordinary justice system and before the Court of Arbitration for Sports (TAS).’
It is important to note that, despite the maneuvers to avoid the jurisdiction of the TAS Through statutory modifications so lacking in transparency that no one is yet aware, the current statutes of the FIPV maintain said competence, and we will use all the legal tools at our disposal to protect the rights of Spain.
García Angulo states that the procedure included the irregular exclusion from Spain through hasty disciplinary sanctions against him, violating the regulations of the FIPVwhich made it possible to approve agreements that, otherwise, would have encountered strong opposition and de facto impossibility of being approved.
The Spanish Pelota Federation has the unanimous support of Spanish sport. In a meeting held this Thursday, January 2, at the Spanish Olympic Committee (COE), the president of the COE, Alejandro Blanco and the general secretary of the Spanish Sports Association (ADESP), Vicente Martínezexpressed their full support for the legal actions that are going to be taken.
This support underlines the importance of defending transparency, respect for the rules and the interests of Spain in the international sports arena. The legal defense will be led by Gonzalo Jimenez Illanaa jurist specialized in the field of sports law, who already participated in 2023 in the opposition to a similar proposal for statutory modification and which was stopped even before it could be put to a vote. Jiménez Illana will coordinate the legal strategy aimed at guaranteeing that the rights of Spain, as a founding and full member of the FIPV, are protected against this nationalist initiative.
The seriousness of this situation has been highlighted by Union of the Navarrese People (UPN)whose representative on the Board of Directors of the Federation, Javier Trigo, presented his immediate resignation as vice president in protest of this outrage. Trigo has shown great concern about the course adopted by the president of the FIPV, Cazaubon, and the interests that seem to be guiding these decisions.
It is trusted that the Higher Sports Council (CSD) exercise a criterion of prudence and do not ratify any agreement derived from this Assembly until all legal bodies have ruled. It is especially serious that, in an Assembly held in Spain and for an agreement that mainly affects our country, an irregular disciplinary procedure has been resorted to completely with the objective of excluding Spain from a crucial vote, in an act that we consider absolutely lack of transparency.
García Angulo indicates that ‘We reiterate our commitment to defending the interests of Spanish sport and our determination to guarantee that this situation is resolved in accordance with the principles of justice, legality and respect for international standards and the spirit of the Olympic movement.’
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