Basque radicals attack Spain fans during World Cup final; four arrested, soldiers among injured

Pre-match protests and early attacks

Hours before Spain faced Argentina in the World Cup final, marches organised by youth groups demanding an official Basque national team turned violent. In Bilbao's Indautxu district, a young man wearing a Spain shirt was attacked around 19:00 by several protesters wielding extendable batons and motorcyclist gloves with metal protections, according to sources close to the victim. Minutes later in Vitoria, a group of about 30 radicals sprayed two Spain fans with pepper gas before beating them in Cuchillería street. The Ertzaintza's Mobile Brigade intervened quickly, identifying three suspects.

Attempted sabotage of the Bilbao giant screen

The PP had rented a giant screen in Doña Casilda park after Bilbao's PNV mayor refused to provide one, calling it not a "social need". Around 10,000 people gathered there. Before kick-off, four radicals tried to topple the screen and cut its cables. Esther Martínez, PP spokesperson in Bilbao and Basque PP secretary general, dressed in a red Spain shirt, stood in their way. "Unos miserables quisieron aguarnos la fiesta; no podemos dar ni un paso atrás," she told ABC. One attacker struck fan Gonzalo Fernández on the head with a flagpole, causing a contusion. Ertzaintza officers, including the beltza riot unit, dispersed the group.

Some wretches wanted to spoil our party; we cannot take a single step back.

Soldiers targeted in Pamplona

At around 21:15, as the match was underway, ten hooded individuals armed with bars and extendable batons stormed a bar terrace in Berriozar, a Pamplona neighbourhood near the Aizoáin military barracks. They headed straight for a table of soldiers watching the game. Three soldiers were injured, one with an open head wound and several broken ribs; a woman suffered a nasal fracture. In total, half a dozen people required medical attention, some taken to hospital. The assailants also damaged the bar's glass front and furniture before fleeing. No arrests had been made by Monday morning; the Guardia Civil and Policía Foral are investigating jointly.

Arrests and investigations

The Basque Department of Security reported four arrests. In Vitoria, three hooded men aged 25, 19 and 18 were detained after 01:00 on Monday for attacking people wearing Spain shirts in Judimendi; two face hate crime charges and the third also for assaulting an officer. In San Sebastián's Parte Vieja, a 28-year-old man was arrested for attacking Ertzaintza agents, and six others (four men, two women) are under investigation for threats and insults against Spain fans. Across all incidents, at least 35 people were identified and are being investigated for aggression and confronting police.

Political condemnation

PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo posted on X: "Los de siempre nos quisieron amargar la fiesta, pero no lo lograron. Porque España es muy grande y Esther también. Muy orgullosos de ti y de todo el PP vasco: al totalitarismo se le planta cara. ¡Viva España!" Central government delegate Marisol Garmendia said, "Se puede ser vasco y celebrar los goles de la selección española." Vitoria's socialist mayor Maider Etxebarria, who had organised a screen for 13,000 people, stressed that the event was enjoyed "unidos." An ABC editorial described the attacks as political intimidation aimed at expelling any expression of Spanish identity from public space, and criticised the government's perceived indulgence given its parliamentary pacts with the abertzale left.

Totalitarianism must be confronted. Long live Spain!