Marc Marquez: fierce controversy after the world championship celebration

On Saturday, November 22, Cervera became the world capital of motorcycling. This time it didn’t just celebrate Marc Marquez’s MotoGP title, but also his brother Alex’s second place. Fate decreed that a town of just ten thousand inhabitants would give birth to two outstanding riders. A day of celebration, with people arriving from everywhere, but there was no shortage of controversy... Spanish style.

After five years of hardship, Marc Marquez is once again the king of the MotoGP class. Five years on from his last world coronation, the Cervera superstar returned to his hometown to celebrate his ninth world title. A triumph with a special flavor, his first aboard the Ducati Desmosedici GP, clinched with five Grands Prix still to go. A result worthy of praise and glory, with the elder Marquez brother carving out a deep gap over his rivals.

However, while the fans chanted the brothers’ names, a harsh controversy was brewing on social media, fueled by the most radical wing of the Catalan independence movement. The Marquez brothers’ mortal sin? Taking the microphone and addressing the crowd in Spanish. But they forget that their choice was guided by common sense, since the show was filmed by Dazn cameras to be broadcast worldwide.

The MotoGP champion and runner-up, out of respect for the many fans watching from their couches outside Catalonia, opted for the Spanish language so that the message could reach everyone. In any case, the controversy is pointless. Anyone who follows Alex and Marc Marquez’s daily lives knows they speak Catalan. In fact, when they were received at the Cervera City Hall, away from the cameras, they spoke Catalan with complete ease.

That wasn’t enough to silence the criticism from some journalists. Jair Domínguez, a presenter on the public TV channel 3Cat, launched his attack on Twitter. "Seeing a Catalan-speaking family speak Spanish in Cervera in front of Catalans was hilarious, yes," he wrote with a sarcastic tone. Lluís Carrasco was even more emphatic. "The mockery of a family. The violation of an ancient town. The destruction of a culture. No. It is not funny."

Social media was awash with insults toward the two MotoGP riders, forgetting that they brought international fame and prestige to the small town of Cervera. It’s not the first time Marc has had to deal with these “separatist” criticisms. In the past, he was reproached for waving the Spanish flag after his victories and for moving to Madrid. It should also be emphasized that Marc Marquez refused the easy option of moving to Andorra to pay less tax, choosing instead to pay in Spain and contribute to the country like any other citizen.