When you fail to provide a political outcome to a political conflict, you will eventually bump into it outside the realm of politics. For instance, in football. UEFA is considering a penalty for Barcelona FC because of the separatist flags that Barça fans waved at the Champions League final Berlin.
Spain’s Deputy Minister Miguel Cardenal has stated that “the disciplinary proceedings against Barcelona FC are a wake-up call for Catalonia to stop using sport for its political ends”.
Do you recall the time when the Spanish authorities advised against using the Catalan language on the PA system in Madrid’s Bernabéu stadium during a Champion’s League match “for safety reasons”? Using sport for political ends? That is precisely what all countries --democratic or otherwise-- do in every competition, starting with the national anthem, the head of state sitting in the vip box and all the flag waving in the stands.
But even if you are prepared to be polite about it, you are not allowed to, because you are not an independent country.
