Anti-Israel demonstrators release smoke in the colors of the Palestinian flag as they protest to condemn the Israeli forces’ interception of some of the vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla aiming to reach Gaza and break Israel’s naval blockade, in Barcelona, Spain, Oct. 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Nacho Doce

Spain’s national broadcaster RTVE apologized on Friday for skipping over an Israeli athlete when introducing the lineup of runners for the men’s 400-meter hurdles race at the 2026 European Athletics Championships in the United Kingdom.

RTVE commentators were introducing the runners one-by-one before the start of the qualifying race this week at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, and Israel’s Omri Shiff, 25, was waiting at block five at the starting line. When his turn came to be introduced, the RTVE camera panned on him but commentators continued speaking about Slovakian runner Patrik Dömötör on block six before introducing Hungary’s Árpád Bánóczy on block four. Shiff was the only runner in the lineup whose name and nationality were not mentioned.

The incident drew criticism from the Israeli Embassy in Spain and the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain (FCJE), which accused RTVE of “discrimination” and “antisemitism” for failing to identify the Israeli athlete. In an open letter to RTVE President José Pablo López, the FCJE expressed its “discomfort and deep concern” over the incident and noted that while RTVE “individually presented all the athletes” before the start of the race, Shiff was “completely omitted without any explanation.”

“This unequal and selective treatment of an athlete due to his nationality constitutes, in our opinion, an act of discrimination incompatible with the values of neutrality, plurality, and integration that must govern the public radio and television service,” FCJE said. The federation called for RTVE to publicly apology, rectify the situation, and guarantee that in the future, all athletes will be treated equally “regardless of their nationality.”

In response, RTVE’s sports television channel Teledeporte apologized for the incident and claimed there was no “political, ideological, or religious motives” for its omission of Shiff’s name or nationality.

“We sincerely regret not having named all the athletes who appeared on screen during the Teledeporte broadcast, as happened in the case of the Israeli athlete Omar Siff,” Teledeporte wrote in a Spanish-language statement posted on X. “This situation is due exclusively to the complexity of the long athletics sessions and to the inherent dynamics of live broadcasting — such as trackside commentary or production needs — without any relation to political, ideological, or religious motives. Our commitment is to give visibility to each and every participant, and we work to achieve this in every broadcast. We reiterate our apology to the affected athlete.”

The Spanish pro-Israel group ACOM accused RTVE of “institutional antisemitism” and its commentators, Lourdes García Campos and Jesús España, of “deliberately” omitting Shiff’s name and nationality. “They present everyone … except the representative from Israel,” ACOM said. “Miserable. Antisemites. Funded with the money of all Spaniards.” The group also accused the broadcaster of turning “sports into an instrument of hate and discrimination.”

The European Athletics Championships, which is the biggest athletics event in Europe, is being held from Aug. 10-16.

RTVE withdrew its participation in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest and also refused to broadcast the competition in protest of Israel’s participation and its military actions in the Gaza Strip during the Israel-Hamas war.

Meanwhile, the Spanish government has been among the world’s fiercest critics of Israel since the outbreak of the Gaza war, leading to a deteriorating diplomatic rift. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and several members of his socialist party have come under mounting criticism from some of the country’s political and Jewish leaders, who accuse them of fueling antisemitic hostility.