The Spanish Government has hit back at the UCI after cycling governing body criticised Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for supporting the pro-Palestine protests that disrupted the Vuelta a España.
In a carefully worded press release late on Monday, the UCI suggested that Sánchez's position is "contradictory to the Olympic values of unity, mutual respect, and peace" and said it even "calls into question Spain's ability to host major international sporting events, ensuring that they take place in safe conditions and in accordance with the principles of the Olympic Charter."
"The UCI strongly condemns the exploitation of sport for political purposes in general, and especially coming from a government.
"Sport must remain autonomous to fulfill its role as a tool for peace. It is unacceptable and counterproductive for our sport to be diverted from its universal mission. Moreover, there are dedicated platforms where countries can discuss their differences."
Spanish politicians have become deeply divided and vocal about Israel and the growing protests in Spain against Israel's actions in Gaza. The protests at the Vuelta were centred on the presence of the Israel-Premier Tech team in the race.
On Monday, Sánchez called for Israel to be banned from competing in sports, like Russia was after its invasion of Ukraine.
The Spanish government responded to UCI President David Lappartient via the Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD), the governing body for Sport in Spain that is recognised by the International Olympic Committee.
"In Spain, as in all democratic societies, the right to demonstrate freely and peacefully is a fundamental right, enshrined in our 1978 Constitution. If the cause is also a just and noble one in defense of Human Rights, such free and peaceful expression acquires the status of a moral obligation," the CSD letter to Lappartient reads.
"With the deepest admiration and respect for our athletes and, as we have always done, expressing our rejection of any type of violent behavior, we believe that sport cannot remain indifferent to what is happening in the world, much less remain oblivious to serious human rights violations.
"There is no peace without justice, and using sport to 'whitewash' a genocide like the one being committed in Gaza, with thousands of deaths, innocent children, and a famine already declared by the United Nations, is a political position that contravenes the Olympic Charter and the most basic values of sport."
On Tuesday morning, the United Nations commission of inquiry also said that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.
The CSD called out Lappartient for not making an explicit request to the Netanyahu government to stop the massacre and barbarity the Palestinian people are suffering.
"This reality should compel them to act with the same forcefulness they [did] in 2022 in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine," the CSD continued. It also refuted the suggestions in the UCI statement that Sánchez's comments had somehow called into question Spain's ability to host major international sporting events.
"Without a doubt, dialogue and understanding, sport as a bridge of communication between nations that fosters unity rather than division, is a goal we share," the CSD letter said, citing Kant in a final phrase.
"But don't forget that, as Kant said, 'peace without justice is the peace of cemeteries."
