Political Decisions Halt Catalan Tokyo Dreams

(ATR) Catalonia officials tell Around the Rings the region has "stopped actively pursuing Olympic recognition," as Spanish authorities crack down on its independence bid.

Gerard Esteva, President of the Union of Catalan Sport Federations, says sport leaders "are currently standing by," as the political situation of Catalonia is resolved.

"We have stopped actively pursuing Olympic recognition." Esteva said to ATR. "First, we need to clarify what will happen in our country and what action the government will take."

The Spanish Constitutional Court this week annulled Catalonia’s independence proclamation from last month. After the proclamation, Spain swiftly enacted a constitutional provision allowing the central government to dissolve Catalonia’s semi-autonomous regional government. The crisis started when Catalan citizens attempted to stage a referendum on independence, but it was declared illegal by Madrid. The referendum was staged amid a crackdown by police forces, setting off the declaration.

Spanish authorities also sought the detainment of ousted Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and other ministers on sedition charges. Puigdemont was detained in Belgium upon request from Spanish authorities, but was released on the promise he would attend all court hearings in Spain, according to international reports.

Esteva says that the UFEC never received a response from the IOC to the letter officials sent last month to clarify the situation. Esteva previously said that Catalonia had "all it needs," to send a team to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The IOC did not respond to requests for comment about if it planned to engage Catalan officials. Previously,NOC relations director of the IOC Pere Miró told ATR, "we must wait to see how the situation in Catalonia evolves as a potential independent state" before making any decisions.

Catalonia will hold off on seeking formal recognition from Olympic-recognized international federations until the political crisis is resolved. Once figured out, Catalonia will resume its attempts.

"The IOC jurisprudence has said that a country in the international community with more than 5 recognized Olympic federations fulfills the criteria to be formally recognized," Esteva said. "The last example of this was Kosovo."

A challenge to gaining recognition could come from the Spanish Olympic Committee (COE). A spokesperson for the COE previously said in a statement to ATR that multiple court rulings in Spain in 2004 and 2008 say that no body is permitted to be called an "Olympic Committee" outside of the COE.

"Likewise, the Spanish Sports Law of 1990 recognizes the exclusivity of the [COE]," the spokesperson added.

Now, Esteva says the challenge will be to secure a proper budget for the next year to continue to train high performance athletes. With control of the region back in Madrid, the UFEC is at the mercy of central government authorities instead of the more lenient Catalan regional authorities.

"The Spanish central government has taken control of the public economy and is trying to stifle clubs, training centers and federations, as well as UFEC itself," Esteva said. "They will not offer UFEC the budget that was promised by the Catalan government. We are fighting now, and we think that we will be successful."

Written by Aaron Bauer

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