New Spanish club uniform causes outrage and could end up in court

One of the most traditional clubs in Spanish football, Athletic Bilbao launched its new uniform for the next European season on Thursday (20). The inclusion of the map of the Basque Country, the region where the club is located, generated political outrage and could end up in court.

Spain has several regions with their own characteristics, such as Catalonia, where Barcelona is located, and the Basque Country, where Athletic Bilbao is located.

The club, which has a strong connection with the Basque Country, not surprisingly only has players with some connection to the region in its squad, decided to promote a tribute and included a map on the back of next season's shirt.

However, the map design includes the region of Navarra, which is considered Basque, but does not want to be associated with the Basque Country but rather as an independent region, not for nothing does it even have its own president.

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This action caused three right-wing parties in Spain (Partido Popular; Unión Popular Navarra and Vox) to issue statements and mobilize to ban Bilbao from wearing the shirt, or, at the very least, remove the map from the uniform.

The Unión Popular Navarra, a party from the Navarra region, sent a long statement to the president of Bilbao, the Spanish Football Federation and the president of the region, María Chivite, claiming that it is taking all legal measures against the Basque club.

"This representation is especially harmful to Navarre, as it ignores or minimizes its peculiar political, legal and institutional reality [...] I demand immediate measures, as this constitutes a serious offense to the majority of Navarrese society" says part of the UPN note.

As is customary in Europe for clubs to debut their shirt at the end of the previous season, Athletic Bilbao plans to play with their new kit on Saturday (23), in the last round of La Liga, against Real Madrid.

Understand what the Basque Country is
Euskal Herria, known in Brazil as the Basque Country, is a region that comprises the territories of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, in Spain, as well as Lower Navarre, Lapurdi and Zuberoa, in France.

Navarra, which is on Spanish territory, is theoretically also Basque, but generally does not want to be associated with either the Spanish or the French side.

All of this is unofficial. In the end, despite this difference, there is no separation and new countries. The Spanish regions are Spain and the French regions are France.

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Source: CNN