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Rafael Nadal (zimbio.com)
World No.1 Rafael Nadal has said he, ‘feels like crying’ after Spain was recently marred by violence following a controversial vote.
On Sunday, police clashed with the public over their decision to take to the polls for a Catalan independence referendum, which wasn’t approved by the Spanish government. The referendum was created by the President of Catalonia with the backing of the local parliament. Almost 900 people were injured during numerous clashes with multiple photos surfacing showing the police dragging people from the polling stations. The European Commission has described the vote as ‘not legal’ and said it was an ‘internal matter’ for Spain.
Catalonia is the second most-populated Municipality of Spain and has its own language. The region is made up of four provinces – Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona.
Speaking about the controversy to reporters in China, Nadal said he was ‘disappointed and surprised’ by the violence. Last month he told the El Mundo newspaper that he was against the referendum. He also stated that he believes ‘Spain is better with Catalonia and Catalonia is better with Spain.’
“I personally feel like crying when I see that in a country where we have known how to live together and be a good example around the world,” Nadal said on Monday.
“The situation that we saw on Sunday… I think that the image [of Spain] we have transmitted is very negative.
“To see the society in general, not only the Catalans, so radicalised… I am surprised and disappointed.”
The turnout for the vote was 42.3% and Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont said that the region has won the right for independence. As the argument continues on both sides, the ten-time French Open champion has called for diplomacy to occur.
“The only way is to speak, talk between the parties in conflict and try to reach agreement,” he continued.
“In the end, we will be living together for the rest of our lives.
“It is not the moment to look for guilty, although there are.”
Nadal has also argued that the chaos has been caused by people ‘manipulating information.’
“There have been people who wanted to manipulate information, which has generated a chaos that should not happen in the century that we live in.” He said. “I’m heartbroken.”
This week, Nadal is the top seed in the China Open. He will start his campaign on Tuesday against France’s Lucas Pouille.