Spain: Dispute over “fascist” name of Cádiz CF stadium continues

source: StadiumDB.com; author: Miguel Ciołczyk Garcia

Spain: Dispute over “fascist” name of Cádiz CF stadium continues It is still unclear how the brawl over the name of the stadium in Cadiz will end, even though we seem to have seen everything. Opponents of the change accuse its supporters of glorifying fascism and breaking the law, while supporters of the new name ask for “respect” for the process. Meanwhile, the club and LaLiga are using different names of the facility.

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“Respect” for the taken actions

The dispute over the name of Estadio Carranza has not gone away. The name change on the initiative of Cádiz CF from Nuevo Mirandilla to Carranza has outraged left-wing circles and prompted the Spanish government to intervene. The reason is the accusations of fascism levelled against the mayor of Cadiz during Franco's dictatorship, Ramon de Carranza, by which glorifying him would go against the Democratic Memory Law.

Of a different opinion is the Estadio Carranza platform, whose activists have asked for respect for the administrative process that has already begun and the possible judicial consequences. According to them, the name change does not violate legal norms, and residents have twice advocated the name Carranza previously signed initiatives, and the name change to Nuevo Mirandilla took place after a referendum with a low turnout.

Estadio Carranza© mosi - always on tour

An interesting procedure and a question mark

Supporters of the new name also cite as an argument a precedent from Córdoba, where the names of two streets whose patrons were associated with Franco's fascist regime were restored. However, the names were removed, leaving only the surnames, thus avoiding a breach of the law. This was a compromise between restoring traditional street names and avoiding the prominence in public space of people associated with the dictatorship.

The same procedure was used in Cádiz, as the Cádiz CF stadium is not reverting to the full old name Estadio Ramón de Carranza but Estadio Carranza, which in a potential lawsuit could be crucial in determining the legality of the name change.

Meanwhile, it is still not entirely clear what the stadium is now officially called. The Cádiz website, which initiated the change, uses the name as Estadio Carranza, but on the LaLiga website in the Andalusian club's data, the venue is still signed as Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla. Some media cautiously use Estadio del Cádiz (from Spanish: Cádiz Stadium).

Estadio Carranza© mosi - always on tour

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