San Mamés Stadium, filled with Palestinian and Palestinian flags, hosted the match between Juskal Seleczewa and the Palestinian national team, in a historic match for the two teams, one in terms of the number of fans it attracted and the second because it was the first match played in Europe, this Saturday against the Basque team, and a few days later, next Tuesday, against the Catalan team. Before starting, the attendees made a giant mosaic bearing the two flags and the two teams’ anthems. A minute of silence was also held in memory of those killed by the Israeli army. After a minute of silence, a loud applause rang out in the cathedral, with the cry of “Palestine escato.”
The first goal came just four minutes after the start of the match. Unai Algizabal, who plays for Levante, scored the winning goal 1-0 for the Basque team. “Ez gaitu inork geldituko” (“No one will stop us”) The stands sang Ortiz’s legendary song enthusiastically to lead the tournament, but without forgetting the reason for the match: solidarity with Palestine.
Thus, chants in support of Palestine and against Israel and applause for the players in red every time they approached the opponent’s goal were added. At the same time, from the stands where sports entertainment teams such as Inigo Kabakas Heri Harmayla, Poltzada, Endar Gori, Endar Baskonia and Airultza were present, they did not stop lighting fireworks throughout the match. They threw one of them onto the field in the 30th minute, forcing the match to stop for a few minutes when they saw the players approaching the torch that was still burning. Shortly after, the match resumed normally, although the smoke from the torches and some of the fireworks in the stadium took some time to clear. They also threw kites from the crowd onto the field which made it difficult for the football players to play at times.
In the 40th minute, the penalty kick went to the Basque team, which led to the second goal being scored. In this case, it was at the hands of Gorka Gorozeta, the Athletic Club striker, with whom the first half ended with a score of 2-0.
During the break, they paid tribute to the footballers who have been part of Euskal Selekzioa’s squad since it was officially recognized, last December, as a full member of the International Federation. This admission means that Euskadi will henceforth be, for all intents and purposes, just another selection, at least until the appeal filed by the Spanish Pilota Federation before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Switzerland) is resolved.
In the 77th minute, the third goal for the Basque team arrived, scored by Orco Irroritaguiña, striker of Athletic Club Izetta. Minutes earlier, more than 51,000 people sitting in the stands turned on their cell phone flashlights and thousands of lights lit up in the San Mamés stadium, chanting “Palestine escato.”
“Please, when the match is over, remain in your seats to honor the Palestinian team and support the official status of the Basque team,” the loudspeakers in San Mamés blared in both Basque and Arabic. After the final whistle of the match, the result was not as important as the banner that the Palestine players proudly raised, which read, “Thank you, Basque Country.” While they embraced each other, the crowd chanted, “Palestinian askatu,” and sang the verses, “Hegoak ebakibanizkio nerea izango zen, ez zuen alde egingo. Bainan, honela ez zen gehiago txoria izango eta.” “ni txoria nuen maite”, from the song Txoria Txori, a hymn to freedom.
The Basque national team and Athletic Bilbao player, Iñigo Ruiz de Gallarita, said after the match: “Today the result was not the most important. A very beautiful international picture.” He stressed that “the important thing is to send strength to the Palestinian people.” For his part, the Palestinian player Hamed, who changed his shirt because he gave it to Iñigo Leko, admitted that he had achieved a dream. “I could not imagine it. I had fulfilled a dream. It was a historic day. We will try to send this message to the world and make sure the genocide ends,” he said. A message that they will also send next Tuesday to Catalonia where the Catalan team will face the Palestinian team at the Olympic Stadium.
In the press conference that followed the match, Palestine national team coach Ihab Abu Jazar expressed his gratitude and the honor that playing this match represents for him and his team. “The Euskadi made us feel as if we were at home. This came to us from minute zero. For us, the Euskadi is not our second home, it is our home. It was a very difficult minute of silence because we remembered the suffering of the Palestinian people. There was no shortage of love and solidarity on the field at any given time. The first time I cried to the Palestinian song was today in San Mamés. This day will be preserved in history as the day the Basque team and Palestine played. It was a day he admitted after pointing out that it was true.” “The players are not in their best physical condition due to lack of training,” he said, adding that the players “will learn” from the match against the Basque team, like the Catalan team and the Libyan team, whom they will play against soon.
Ihab Abu Jazar wanted to send a message to the citizens of Euskadi: Never forget Palestine. “I know that you carry us in your hearts and in your daily lives, but I want you to continue to carry Palestine with you, and not to stop doing so, because the Basque people are the biggest supporter of Palestine ever. Our fathers and grandfathers left us a legacy that Palestine will return and that day is approaching. We will play in Palestine and with Jerusalem as our capital, we will regain the lands occupied by Israel, and we will return to our homeland, where we will play for the rest of our lives.” He said. That’s it.
Behind him, Jagoba Arrasate, the coach of the Basque national team, admitted that “football declined and it was a very exciting day.” “It is an example of how far football can go, two teams showing their solidarity with a people going through difficult times, and seeing the reaction of the people. Seeing the Palestinians so excited and grateful was a very important moment. I will remember this day with joy and pride. Oskal Heria showed the heart he has. We are a people and we know the situation they are in. They have never played in Europe, we know we are a small city, but they did not expect the scale of what they found. Football that’s it, but thanks to football we were able to experience it”, He concluded his speech by saying, “The people have shown that they want a team that represents them, and the players as well, and now is the time for politicians and institutions to work to achieve that.”
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