A month away from the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, the animosity between the two teams has already began to escalate. This time, the trigger has been a video by TV3 in which the players of Real Madrid are compared to hyenas.
The polemic video shows images of hyenas hunting for food with a voice over commentary about their savage ways. These images are alternated with others of Barcelona players being “hunted” by the players from the opposite team (mainly Álvaro Arbeloa, Xabi Alonso and Sergio Ramos). Lionel Messi gets the spotlight when he is compared to a gnu being chased by hyenas that trying to eat him, a situation making reference to the allegedly hard time that the skilled football player gets every time he plays against The Whites. The video ends with an image of the Real Madrid’s player, Pepe, wearing the famous Hannibal Lecter’s mask from The Silence of the Lambs.
The Aftermath
After what can be considered an aggressive provocation, the Real Madrid club and its fans have not refrained themselves from commenting on and frowning upon the event. Barcelona fans argue that they have to stand The Whites’ accusations of doping and defamations of their most valuable player, Lionel Messi, on a regular basis, and they feel that the one time they answer back, Real Madrid overreacts to the situation.
However, this time it seems that the retaliation crossed the line: TV3 openly apologized and admitted they had made a mistake by creating a video which was not intended to come out as violent as it looked when it was finally broadcast.
The History behind the Matches
It is said that football in Spain is much more than just a sport. When FC Barcelona and Real Madrid play against each other, they represent the history of their respective regions. The Barcelona Football Club has long been a symbol of identity and regional pride for Catalans, especially during Franco’s dictatorship, which lasted forty six years. During that time, Real Madrid represented the national government and the unity and power of the country. The team enjoyed the support of Franco himself, who would even threaten the Barcelona players and bribe the referees to favour Real Madrid. Franco felt that by oppressing the football club, he was indirectly oppressing the Catalan region. Even today it is not uncommon to see political signs and flags during the matches with statements refusing to accept Catalonia as a part of Spain, or anti-Madrid slogans written on them.
Events related to sports rivalry tend to be disregarded as trivial or unimportant, but sports reflect society and, in a country where there is much more to football than meets the eye, any antagonism should be addressed. After all, understanding in sports might possibly lead to understanding in politics.
Sources
Terra
Madrid-Barcelona.com
elEconomista.es
romance-languages.pomona.edu
Las rivalidades entre Madrid y Cataluña
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