Spain wouldn’t have won Euro 2024 without Mikel Oyarzabal and Mikel Merino, but back home in the Basque country that’s not a good thing.
The Real Sociedad duo were integral as Spain became record four-time winners, Merino making it 2-1 against Germany in the quarter-finals before Oyarzabal did the same against England in the final.
However, such success hasn’t been welcomed in parts of Spain, particularly Oyarzabal’s home town.
In the Biscayan municipality of Elorrio, where his mother lives in the Basque Country, a banner was hung this morning reading, ‘No to the acceptance of the Spanish team’ between the Basque flag and the Spanish flag.
Underneath in graffiti Oyarzabal and Merino’s names were painted, along with the word ‘traitors’ and a crossed-out swastika.
The Basque region is just one of many in Spain that still resents Madrid and the establishment after years of fascism through dictator Francisco Franco.
Speaking after the victory, Arnaldo Otegi, a leading member of the Basque parliament said: “I will never celebrate a victory for Spain because it does not represent me.
“It is not my national team, it is not my king and it is not my team. Some people think that we are anti-Spanish, but what I want to do is raise another point, and that is that Basque players do not have the option of playing with the Basque national team because the Spanish State denies that to us Basques.”
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