Much as I admire the Madrid regional government´s president Espereranza Aguirre as a person, I cannot agree with her politically when it comes to football.
It is I think unfortunate of her to suggest that Friday´s King´s Cup on Friday should be played behind closed doors if Athletic Bilbao and FC Barcelona fans whistle the Spanish national anthem.
By so doing, she has stirred a hornest´s nest of enduring resentments, and fuelled antagonisms which only radical minorities stand to gain from.
To Barca supporters Aguirre´s politics brings echoes of the regime of General Primo de Rivera who during the 1920´s closed the FC Barcelona stadium for six months and imposed a heavy fine on the club after some fans whistled the national anthem.
Football is better without politics intervening. Aguirre has simply contributed to politicising Friday´s match even more, while threatening to undermine the national concensus that Vicente Del Bosque has so intelligently put together in the national team La Roja and those who support it.
I agree this is a hornets nest!
The fact is that it is called the Kings Cup and, as with the National Team games, the national anthem is always played.
Lets get one thing clear, those who have politicised it are the Catalan & Basque nationalists who are preparing a massive “whistle in” during the anthem. So it is they who are mixing sport & politics.
Aguirre has cleary put her foot into it.
Vicente Del Bosque has nothing to do with this and dont follow your logic. If the Spanish national team played in Bilbao or Barcelona with Vicente as manager, the national anthem would be booed to the bitter end.
I suggest they drop the national anthem and play the Eurovision song contest winning melody 😉 and just have the Prince hand over the cup….