Franco, Spain and the Catalan Rugby

Major European rugby event to be held on April 9th at Barcelona’s Olympic Stadium – and an occasion to denounce a dictator’s wanton act of exclusion

A sold-out crowd of 55,000 is expected at Barcelona's Olympic Stadium on April 9th for the Heineken Cup quarterfinals match between the 2008-2009 French champions, Perpignan's USAP, and Rugby Club Toulonnais.

This major sporting event will be held for the first time outside of France as a result of a collaboration agreement signed last January between USAP and the city's soccer giant Barça. Rugby is extremely popular in the Catalan area of France, and giving the public in Barcelona a chance to watch Perpignan's powerhouse will certainly contribute to the promotion of what is still a minority sport south of the border.

This will also be an occasion to support Catalan rugby's demand of official international recognition. In fact, the Catalan Rugby Federation was one of the 13 founding members of the European Rugby Association (FIRA), established in Paris in 1934. In 1941, however, General Franco's dictatorship dissolved all independent sports associations and in 1945 all sports activities, incuding international representation, were put under the authority of a centralized government department.

All efforts made since then by the Catalan Federation to regain its rightful status as a full member of the European Association have failed, including a case brought before the French courts in 2006 and dismissed on appeal in 2010. During the proceedings, lawyers representing the Spanish Federation had no qualms about invoking the laws passed under the dictatorship - and never repealed to this day - to justify the Catalans' continued exclusion.

In 1992 Barcelona's Olympic Stadium was officially named after former Catalan President Lluís Companys, who was arrested while in exile in France in 1940 and handed over to the Francoist police by the Gestapo. After a summary court martial, he was executed by a firing squad in Montjuïc castle. To this day, every Spanish government has refused to nullify that illegitimate death sentence or even to apologize for what can only be described as a state crime.

More information about the match, the stadium, USAP, Catalan rugby and the effects of the 1939-1975 dictatorship that can still be felt in Spanish society can be found at:

http://fr.usap.fr/
http://www.stadiumguide.com/montjuic.htm
http://www.seleccions.cat/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11884
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/28/spain-lingering-legacy-franco?INTCMP=SRCH