Any appeal to caution was useless.
The Spanish King's Cup final between the two Basque teams Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad, divided by a strong rivalry, was characterized by images released by local media showing scenes of out-of-control gatherings.
The protagonists are the fans of Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad, who will play the final of the Copa del Rey 2020 in Seville tomorrow, which was postponed due to Covid.
Once the dream of being at the stadium vanished, the supporters of the two Basque teams wanted to say goodbye to their favorites leaving for Andalusia. Chaos and gatherings took place at the sports center of Lezama, a town about fifteen kilometers from Bilbao, where Athletic trains. And this despite the club having asked the fans to respect the security measures. Similar scenes, unsurprisingly, were repeated in Zubieta, a neighborhood on the outskirts of San Sebastián where Real Sociedad trains.
The Basque Country is experiencing a phase of accelerated growth in Covid infections: the positivity rate has gone from 7.3% to 9.1% in 24 hours, according to the latest data from the regional government. But the passion for football, and the desire to win a trophy, also got the better of the fear of the virus.