Sergi Blázquez
“All political parties except PP (Popular Party) agree with the proposals of the Platform for the new Statute.”
Sergi Blázquez
“All political parties except PP (Popular Party) agree with the proposals of the Platform for the new Statute.”
How did you come to be on the board of management of the Pro Catalan Sports Teams Platform?
I have always been linked to those organisations that defend the right of Catalonia to play in official competitions. I was a collaborator of the COC (Catalan Olympic Committee). Later on, during the popular initiative of the collection of signatures to change the law of the Parliament of Catalonia, I was proxy of the Platform. I knew the current President, Xavier Vinyals, and for over a year we have been meeting together. With the change in the presidency, the “no” in Fresno and the beginning of a new period, I joined the board of management of the Platform.
Together with the President of the Platform, Xavier Vinyals, you have been in charge of the affairs related to the Statute. What has been the stand of the Platform when faced with the reform of this text?
The first thing we did was to ask for a meeting with the Catalan Minister of Institutional Relations. Its General Secretary, Francesc Baltasar, received us very kindly and heard the proposals of the Platform with great attention. We have our own idea about how the new Statute should express the right of Catalan Federations to ask for their admission to their respective international federations. Our proposals try to strengthen the right of Catalan Federations to ask for their admission to their international federations and advocate that the Generalitat (Catalan Autonomous Government) must foster and give its support to the projection abroad of Catalan Teams. After the meeting, the very same Catalan Ministry advised us to explain our theses to all the political parties with parliamentary representation, and so we did.
“All the political parties except PP (Popular Party) agree with the proposals of the Platform so that in the new Statute the right of Catalan Federations to ask for their admission to their respective international federations is included.”
Let us go step by step. How did it go with PP (Popular Party)?
They received us and they were very cordial but, as we had foreseen, they explained that they did not agree at all with our initiatives. They clearly explained that, according to their views, our proposals divide society and, in addition, they affirmed that our texts were unconstitutional.
And with IC (Iniciativa per Catalunya, Initiative for Catalonia)?
Very well, there was no problem at all. They agreed with the texts we proposed, they found them constitutional.
With ERC (Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, Republican Left of Catalonia)?
Esquerra completely shares our views and aims and, therefore, there is full agreement with this political party.
“The TAS (Council of Sports Arbitration) sentence has a positive aspect for it amends the completely unacceptable process that took place in Fresno. However, this body has also annulled the provisional recognition that the Catalan Skating Federation had obtained in Miami, and this is not fair.”
The PSC (Partit Socialista de Catalunya, Catalan Socialist Party) was also in favour of the Platform’s thesis?
Yes and no. On the one hand, one of its representatives asserted to us that they considered constitutional our proposal, that they agreed on this subject with ERC and that, therefore, they would hand over the texts to the Commission. But another member of the PSC was especially belligerent with the Platform and its aims. Sincerely, I was very surprised by his attitude.
Finally, what was the reaction of CiU (Convergència i Unió, Convergence and Union)?
They fully agreed with us; they also share with the Platform its aims of obtaining Catalan Teams recognised on an international level and, therefore, it was a very cordial meeting.
THE TEXT OF THE TWO PROPOSALS OF THE PLATFORM The Generalitat (Catalan Autonomous Government) has exclusive power over physical and sports activities, which includes at all events b) the fostering and the support for the projection abroad of Catalan sports in order to obtain the full recognition and admission to their corresponding international federations and thus guarantee their right to participate in those official competitions that may be organised by international federations by means of national sports teams. Catalan public administrations will recognise the legal personality and the capacity to act of those juridical persons legally constituted and registered in Catalonia, guaranteeing their rights and capacities to operate, including the freedom to affiliate and be admitted to the legal bodies at a state, European or international level, within the framework of the development and defence of their aims.
To sum up…
All the political parties except PP (Popular Party) agree with the Platform’s proposals, accept them, gather them and incorporate them into the proposals of the final wording. Now we must wait to see what the final wording will be.
Let us change the subject. What do you think of the sentence pronounced by the TAS (Sports Arbitration Council) last July allowing the Catalan Skating Federation to advocate its admission to FIRS next November?
On the one hand, it is a positive sentence for it recognises and amends a series of flagrant violations that happened in Fresno. From the legal point of view, that assembly was unacceptable. The fact that the TAS (Sports Arbitration Council) makes it compulsory to repeat the whole process is significant and, in addition, it avoids the situation of defencelessness in which the Catalan Skating Federation finds itself. However, on the other hand, I consider that the TAS sentence is negative for us. Why? For the Council annulled the whole Fresno process but also the provisional recognition obtained by the Catalan Skating Federation in Miami that allowed Catalonia to compete at the B World Championship of hockey on skates in Macao. Now we must start again and this is not completely fair. The provisional recognition was right, but the Fresno assembly was a shame.
What do you believe will happen next November 24th in Rome?
I am optimistic for we are working well. I see some possibilities of obtaining the definitive recognition. It would be wholly fair.