BARCELONA: Spain’s foreign minister has said he would support the expulsion of Israel Premier Tech from the Spanish Vuelta after the cycling team was targeted by a pro-Palestinian protest that disrupted the race.
Spain’s top diplomat, José Manuel Albares, said late Thursday he would “understand and be in favor” of the Israeli team being removed, while adding his government doesn’t have the power to do so. He made the statement in response to a question by a journalist on Spain’s national radio RNE.
“We have to send a message to Israel and the Israeli society that Europe and Israel can only have normal relations when human rights are respected,” Albares said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his support of the team, which is owned by Israeli-Canadian businessman Sylvan Adams, in a message on X on Friday. He did not mention Albares’ comments.
“Great job to Sylvan and Israel’s cycling team for not giving in to hate and intimidation. You make Israel proud,” Netanyahu wrote.
The protest that stopped the race
Wednesday’s protest in the northern city of Bilbao targeted Israel Premier Tech while Israel continues its military invasion into Gaza that has killed tens of thousands of civilians in retaliation for the Hamas attacks in October 2023.
The protest produced chaotic scenes of a crowd pushing against temporary metal barriers along the final kilometers of the course with police and security personnel holding them back. Many protesters carried Palestinian flags and pro-Palestinian signs.
Race officials called off the stage about 10 kilometers (six miles) from the end of the circular route out of and into Bilbao. There was no stage winner.
The team vows to keep racing
Immediately after the incident, Vuelta organizers issued a statement condemning the “events that took place” while also backing the right to peaceful protest.
“La Vuelta respects and defends the right to peaceful demonstration within the context of the event, but cannot tolerate any acts that put at risk the physical safety of the participants or any member of the race caravan,” the statement read.
Vuelta technical director Kiko Garcia, however, appeared to suggest that Israel Premier Tech should consider dropping out or for the UCI, cycling’s governing body, to intervene, because there was a risk of more protests if it kept racing.
“At some point someone will have to decide if we protect an international event like the Vuelta, or if we protect a team,” García said.
“Everyone needs to try to find a solution, which for me right now is that the Israeli team realizes that by being here it doesn’t help the safety of everyone else. But we can’t make that decision, the team has to do it.”
Israel Premier Tech, however, stated it was not pulling out.
“Any other course of action sets a dangerous precedent in the sport of cycling — not only for Israel Premier Tech, but for all teams,” it said.
García also said the Vuelta warned the UCI about possible protests against Israel Premier Tech before the race.
UCI condemned the incident, saying “cycling in particular, has a role to play in bringing people together and overcoming barriers between them, and should under no circumstances be used as a tool for punishment.”
The UCI declined on Friday to comment on the minister’s comments when asked by the Associated Press.
The Palestinian cause is backed by many Spaniards, including its left-wing government, which recognized a Palestinian state last year.
Another protest in a rural area
Thursday’s stage went as planned without any more protests.
But Friday’s 13th stage in a rural, hilly area was briefly interrupted when a small group of protesters ran onto the narrow country road and impeded the three stage leaders — non of whom belonged to Israel Premier Tech — from advancing. Police removed them within seconds.
A small pro-Palestinian protest was also held before Friday’s stage that started in Cabezón de la Sal. It did not affect the riders.
Former Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard leads the three-week race.
The Grand Tour ends in Madrid on Sept. 14.
Spanish minister says Israeli cycling team should be expelled from Vuelta after protest
https://arab.news/rvj27
Spanish minister says Israeli cycling team should be expelled from Vuelta after protest
- Albares said he would “understand and be in favor” of the Israeli team being removed
- “We have to send a message to Israel and the Israeli society that Europe and Israel can only have normal relations when human rights are respected”
Cricket’s increasingly concentrated power and influence
- There seems to be a belief amongst those who wield power that India’s domestic market will never slow down and continue to sustain the sport globally
There appears to have been some mischief-making in the corridors of power which determine cricket broadcasting rights. At least this is the case as far as the all-important Indian market is concerned.
Rumors have been expressed in respected media channels that the current four-year deal between JioStar and the International Cricket Council is in jeopardy.
JioStar is the result of a merger in 2024 between Viacom18 and Disney Star, which had negotiated the original deal, signed in 2022. This was valued at $2.9 billion. The precise rumor was that JioStar does not wish to honor the last two years of the deal.
Such was the impact of the rumor that the ICC and JioStar released a joint statement on Dec. 11 which said that the media reports “do not reflect the position of either organization.
“The existing agreement between the ICC and JioStar remains fully in force, and JioStar continues as the ICC’s official media rights partner in India. Any suggestion that JioStar has withdrawn from the agreement is incorrect. JioStar is fully committed to honor its contractual obligations in letter and spirit.”
It can be argued that evidence of that commitment was demonstrated by the recent unveiling of a teaser advertisement for the men’s Twenty20 World Cup in early 2026, jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka. The event ought to be a bonanza for advertisers, sponsors and marketers.
So, why, at this point, would rumors circulate about honoring the current media rights model? One possibility is that there is lingering suspicion that the $2.9-billion deal with Disney Star was over the odds.
It is understood that, at the bidding stage, Sony Pictures Networks had been the second-highest bidder at around half of the final sum and that Jio had bid significantly less than that figure.
It is difficult to keep track of the changing ownership patterns of companies which have held ICC media rights. Star Sports, the precursor of Disney Star, started its long-standing commercial relationship with the ICC in 2007, whilst its partnership with the Board of Control for Cricket in India began in 2011.
Indian Premier League broadcasting rights were secured in 2018. It seems that Star had become the preferred supplier and, perhaps, this led to an overreach in 2023 in order to ensure that this position was retained.
What seemed like an ever-growing market received a shock to its system in August. The Indian parliament passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill. As discussed in my column of Sept. 11, the motivations for the bill are honorable.
It seeks to address the risks of addiction and financial ruin, along with the accompanying harm to mental health and possible suicide risk caused by compulsive playing, as well as opportunities for money laundering and threats to national security by illegal messaging.
The impact on real-money gaming platforms has been severe. They had become a vital cog in the engine driving televised cricket in India and beyond. Dream11, India’s largest fantasy sports platform, had featured on Team India’s shirt front, for both men and women, since 2023.
This prominent sponsorship disappeared with immediate effect and its business model had to pivot from paid contests to free-to-play. One piece of regulatory legislation exposed the inherent risk which cricket faces in basing a part of its financial underpinning on any sector which may be subject to significant governmental intervention.
Of course, none of this is new. Tobacco companies were once prominent sponsors of the game. When this was banned, cricket’s national boards moved onto other sectors, such as financial services. Sponsorship is not the main source of income for cricket — television is, largely from India.
It is well known that the ICC receives 80 percent of its income from India and that other countries rely on tours by the Indian team to generate domestic income. This level of dependency is not only risky but makes most of the rest of cricket vulnerable to what happens in India.
JioStar is owned by Reliance Industries, an industrial conglomerate which controls significant parts of India’s energy, telecommunications, retail and financial sectors. It also owns the Mumbai Indians in the IPL, MI Cape Town in South Africa, MI Emirates in ILT20, MI New York and MI London in The Hundred.
In the latter case, this represents a re-brand of The Oval Invincibles. Despite having a 49 percent stake in the franchise, its influence has been sufficient to effect the re-branding.
Reliance and its owners, the Ambani family, are heavily invested in cricket. A former senior executive of Disney Star and JioStar, Sanjog Gupta, is now chief executive of the ICC and will be very familiar with the terms of the current rights deal.
Jay Shah, former secretary of the BCCI and the current ICC chair is the son of India’s interior minister. The ICC and the BCCI are linked, more than ever before, by common interests and deeply personal connections at the governance levels of both cricket, politics and financial capital.
Whether the rumors about JioStar’s stance on the current rights deal is correct or not, it is known that the ICC has been preparing member boards for the prospect that funding distribution to them in the next cycle from 2028 could be 30 percent lower than in the current cycle.
JioStar has established such a powerful market position, akin to a monopoly, that the rumored default on the current deal may represent the opening salvos on negotiations for the next cycle.
In an ideal world, cricket’s governing body should not be beholden to a single broadcaster. Diversification of revenue streams across multiple broadcasters and streaming platforms in multiple countries would reduce the risk and dependency.
It seems unlikely to happen, as it requires the ICC leadership to decouple itself from the BCCI and India. A basic textbook on corporate strategy would not recommend that a global sport’s financial viability should be dependent on one country and a single powerful broadcaster.
However, that is the position in which cricket finds itself. There seems to be a belief amongst those who wield power in cricket that India’s domestic market will never slow down and continue to sustain the sport globally.
Add to that the continued growth and maturity of franchise leagues, with a high proportion of teams owned by Indian companies and individuals, the notion of anyone else having their hands on the levers of power is risible.
Little evidence exists to suggest that India’s dominance of cricket is not going to remain in place for some time to come. There is no obvious prospect of that position being used to institute structural and governance reform that addresses possible conflicts of interest and restricts power and influence.
In 1887, Lord Acton famously said: “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Applied to cricket, this does not imply that financial corruption exists.
However, it should serve as a reminder that absolute power can corrupt the best of natures. On this issue, global cricket governance stands at a crossroads.
