#bixintxo bilbao

[beautiful-basque-country]

"the Basque flag was re-legalised in Euskadi in 1977" only in Euskadi? Not all of EH?

Kaixo anon!

It wasn't illegal in Northern EH and Nafarroa has its own flag.

However, still nowadays there are few flags more controversial than our ikurriña, or so it seems. For example: some people were fined for displaying ikurriñas during the txupinazo in Sanfermines.

Another example: pelotari Bixintxo Bilbao won the 2019 Pilota Word Championship - representing France of course - and accepted the medal with an ikurriña over the shoulders. He got a punishment of one whole year of suspension for showing a "non-authorised" flag.

Not to mention that it was banned at the Eurovision song contest a few years ago, along with the flag of ISIS. Because yeah, Basque people and ISIS are practically the same, y'know?

[beautiful-basque-country]

Bixintxo Bilbao waved an ikurriña after winning the Basque Pilota World Championships last summer in Barcelona, along with his partner Peio Larralde. 

The Federation considers the act of waving an - according to them - unauthorized flag a serious offense and has sentenced Bilbao to a whole year without competing.

The International Federation considers they’re just following the rules; the thing is, that rules literally state that pilota players can only be sanctioned a year “if their behavior or attitude attempts against the good image of the Federation or its organs”. How is the Basque flag - a legal and official flag both in Spain and France - something that can hurt the good image of anybody?

Especially the one of the federation of a sport who has “Basque” in its f*cking name??

Bixintxo Bilbao has already stated that he’s sad about the punishment but that he’s not sorry and that he’d do it again anytime. He’s appealing the sanction, supported by the Basque Government.

[beautiful-basque-country]

joixxe: Maybe because that Basque player was playing for France, not for Basque Country. And the rules of FIPV says that is not allowed to appear with a flag of a nation that doesnt play in the tournament, not for be against that flag or what it represent, only to pull apart the sport and the politic petitions. Maybe the sanction is disproportionate but the sad part is that we are talking about the flag topic and not about how was the tournament, wich was the important th

- He was playing for France because the Federation won’t allow a Basque national team, and yes, it exists in other sports like surfing.

Besides, you can’t wave any other flag but the one of the country you’re playing for?????

You’re incorrect about that supposed rules of the FIPV. In the official resolution signed by the FIPV adressing the punishment and the reason why Bixintxo Bilbao was sanctioned, the broken law wasn’t even mentioned, mainly because it doesn’t exist any written law inside the official rules that forbids waving the ikurriña.

“Not to be against that flag or what it represents”. Seriously? Do you think that waving the, we don’t know, Aquitanian flag would’ve been also a reason for punishment? Because we doubt it.

Most players that won a World Championship waved a flag dear to them:

-Fernando Llorente with the flag of La Rioja around his neck:

David Villa and the Asturian flag:

Xavi and Puyol with the Senyera:

Zinedine Zidane, playing for France and waving the Algerian flag:

Do you see politics there? Do you see they’re mixing politics and sports for waving the flag of ther mother region?

Politics and sports mix the moment you punish a player for waving the official and legal flag of his region. To add insult to injury, a player of Basque pilota, a game that has a Basque origin and Euskal Herria has the highest percentage of professional players in the world.

We’re not just talking about a flag or sports, we’re talking about how stateless nations are treated by the states they’re under.

[beautiful-basque-country]

Good news.. but not great.

The president of the Federation, Xabier Cazaubon, has stated that it was himself in a personal capacity who ended the sanction. So federation laws are still the same and this could happen again.

Besides, Mr. Cazaubon claims that the federation has suffered “insults and threats” regarding its previous decision - the punishment - and that it’s unacceptable.

Well, it also is unacceptable to punish a Basque man who plays Basque pilota professionally for waving the Basque legal flag, y’know? Shit happens.

[beautiful-basque-country]

cocelivros: Pelota vasca? Surely you mean Pelota Nacional Muy Española?

- It happened in France since Bixintxo Bilbao was playing for France during the World Championships. People sometimes tend to forget that France is not much better than Spain towards minority identities / languages.

In fact, France is much worse.

[beautiful-basque-country]

I'm convinced that any other flag'd have had no consequences

Kaixo, anon!

So are we…