An Olympic Champion for Catalans

He is not Usain Bolt and he hasn’t won yet any Olympic medals in London. But the name of Àlex Fàbregas is now a trending topic in Catalonia and Spain and he will be one of the stars of the London Olympic Games.

Àlex Fàbregas is a Catalan player on the Spanish hockey team in the Olympics, and he won a silver medal four years ago. The truth is that most of his teammates are Catalans. This weekend, he stated something a lot of Catalns think but not so many say loud—‘I am Catalan and I am playing for Spain because I have no other choice’. After this words, he was deluged with insults and threats from Spanish fans. Fàbregas decided then to close his Twitter account. His Catalan fans decidet to defend his words and ‘TotsSomÀlexFàbregas‘ (We All Are Àlex Fàbregas) became in few hours trending topic on twitter.

Many Catalans are worried about how Spaniards are making strong anti-Catalan feelings declarations via social media and Spanish newspapers forums. Some consider the messages are racists.

Spain’s performance in the London Games is the worst in decades. The only three medals that the team has won come from a Catalan woman, Mireia Belmonte, and a Basque one. Belmonte was asked some time ago about the possibility of competing with a Catalan delegation and she gived her support: ‘It will be good to compete with Spain in the swimming pool’ she said in an interview.

Catalan athletes take part in the Olympic Games as members of the Andorran, French, and Spanish teams. In the case of Spain, they can not refuse to join the team without running the risk of having sanctions and possible loss of federation status. Also they can lose the right to play their sport at a professional level.