Jack Anderson: Gaza, Allianz and a question of values for the GAA
VUELTA: Police try to disperse protesters who block the road in an attempt to disrupt the twenty-first stage of the Spanish cycling race La Vuelta, from Alalpardo to Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. Pic: AP Photo/Manu Fernández
Pro-Palestinian protests, prompted by the participation of an Israeli team, disrupted stages in this year’s Vuelta cycling tour in Spain. The final stage had to be cancelled. The world governing body, the UCI, miffed by the commercial and reputational damage to a key event, has since questioned Spain’s capacity to safely host major sporting events.
The Spanish Prime Minister, in the modern vernacular, “doubled down” on his support for the Vuelta protests and called for the consideration of a wider sporting boycott of Israel. The reaction from the Israeli government is that by isolating their athletes, sport is only empowering Hamas.
