"Spain, which still has problems when it comes to national unity, wants to avoid being threatened by a process of 'Balkanisation'," the historian Jose Alvarez Junco explained to online daily El Confidencial.
Spain's coach Luis Enrique (2R) and players gather during a training session at La Cartuja stadium in Seville. Pic/AFP
Spain's 2022 World Cup qualifier against Kosovo on Wednesday is more than a simple game of football, with the meeting in Seville also at the centre of a diplomatic row. The controversy stems from the description of Kosovo as a "territory" by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) when it published Spain's opening World Cup qualifying fixtures in a group also containing Sweden, Greece and Georgia.
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The description was not appreciated in Kosovo, the former Serbian province of 1.8 million people which declared its independence in 2008. In response, the Football Federation of Kosovo (FFK), said in a statement that "Kosovo is an independent state" and threatened not to play the match if it was not allowed to use its national anthem and flag. "We were prepared not to go to Spain due to the political context of this decision," FFK secretary general Eroll Salihu told AFP. Kosovo were granted full membership of UEFA and FIFA in 2016 and first appeared in competitive action in qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.
'Independence is irreversible'
Most western powers recognise Kosovo's statehood but Serbia and its leading international allies China and Russia do not. Nor does Spain, or Greece, another of their opponents on the field in the campaign to qualify for Qatar 2022. Spain and Greece, along with Slovakia, Romania and Cyprus, are the five member states of the European Union who were last week urged to recognise Kosovo by the European Parliament.
"Kosovo's independence is irreversible. Recognition by these remaining EU member states... would be beneficial to the normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, would enhance and consolidate the stability of the region," members of the European Parliament said. Nevertheless Madrid has already stated the staging of Wednesday's game at Seville's La Cartuja stadium will not persuade it to change its position.
"The staging of the match between the teams from these two federations does not under any circumstances change Spain's position not to acknowledge Kosovo as a state," Spanish diplomatic sources told AFP. The Spanish government's position is explained by fears of a knock-on effect recognition of Kosovo could have for separatists in Catalonia. "Spain, which still has problems when it comes to national unity, wants to avoid being threatened by a process of 'Balkanisation'," the historian Jose Alvarez Junco explained to online daily El Confidencial.
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