Sept. 15 (UPI) -- Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called for Israeli athletes to be banned from international sports competitions after protestors disrupted the 21st and final leg of the Vuelta Espana cycling race Sunday.
Sanchez, a left-wing member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, said Monday that it wasn't fair to ban Russia but not Israel.
"Why was Russia expelled [from global sporting events] after the invasion of Ukraine, but Israel allowed to remain after the invasion of Gaza?" Sánchez asked during a meeting of party lawmakers in the Spanish parliament. "While barbarism persists, Israel cannot use international events to whitewash its presence."
The protests happened in Madrid, where the race was set to finish this year. Police clashed with more than 100,000 demonstrators along the route. The Israeli team, Israel-Premier Tech, was the target of the demonstrators.
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