Constitutional Court allows Catalan national teams to compete internationally but never against Spain

Barcelona (ACN).- Spain’s Constitutional Court dismissed the appeal presented in 1999 by the Spanish Government against Catalan sports federations competing at international level. However, according to the sentence issued on Thursday, Catalan national teams cannot play in competitions where the Spanish national team is present. The Court stated that Catalan teams can compete internationally “in sports where no Spanish federation exists”. In addition, they can compete when they do not “impede or disturb the coordination and international representation powers of the Spanish State”. The Catalan law from 1999 emphasised “the will of Catalan sport to enjoy an international representation, as an objective very much rooted over time”. The Constitutional Court stated that this “does not necessarily mean an invasion of [the Spanish] State power defending the interests of federated Spanish sport”. According to the Catalan Government, this means that the 21 Catalan national teams that currently are members of international federations will be able to continue competing at international level. “It is a first step”, stated the Catalan Government’s Sports Secretary, Ivan Tibau. However, the Government’s objective is to work for the international recognition of all the Catalan sport federations and their right to compete at international level.

The Spanish Government focuses on the limitations

The Spanish Minister for Education, Culture and Sports, Ignacio Wert, stated the Spanish Government “will comply with the Court’s sentence”. Wert added that “the important part was to underline the scope of the limitations the Constitutional Court clearly establishes for these selections of an inferior range than national”. Therefore, for Wert the Court’s decision “mainly relates to autochthonous sports where there will not be national teams”. Asked if Catalonia would ever play a Euro Cup, as England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland can do, he said that “given the [Court’s] limitations set, this would be impossible”.

21 Catalan sport federations already compete at international level

There are 21 Catalan national teams recognised by their respective international federation and already competing at international level. They are in the following sports, many of them minoritary sports but with a global scope: Snow Rackets, Foot-volley, Touch Rugby, Futsal, Korfball, Twirling, Fistball, Beach Tennis, Tamburello, Full Tennis, Skating, Rackeball, Bowling, Rugby-League, Darts, Bike Trial, Fell Running (also known as Mountain Running), Pitch and Putt, Body Building, Australian Football, and Sport Dancing.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport recognised the right of Catalan national teams to compete internationally and in competitions with the Spanish team

The Vice President of the Platform for Catalan National Teams, Sergi Blázquez, said on Friday that the world’s top institution deciding on sport matters, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS or TAS in its French name) already ruled in 2008 in favour of the international recognition of Catalan national teams, issuing a sentence regarding the Catalan Bowling Federation. In addition, the CAS did not see any problem in a Catalan national federation being a member of an international federation that already has the Spanish federation as member.

The case of the Catalan Bowling Federation

In 2007, the International Federation of Bowling (IFB), which is based in Colorado (US), decided to admit as a member the Catalan Federation of Bowling, which had already been founded in 1949. A few days later, the Spanish Federation of Bowling, which was founded in 1954 and is also an IFB member, appealed. Among many arguments it said that Spanish legislation only allowed one federation per sport and that the European Union was imposing a pyramidal level in member states, with one federation on top and the rest below. In 2008, the CAS reminded that international federations are private organisations, which can have their own statutes and decide who they admit as members. The International Federation of Bowling stated that it had admitted several nations without a state or without a state recognised by the United Nations, such as England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, or Taiwan. In addition, the CAS clarified that Spanish legislation does not apply at international level.