Pamplona (EFE).- The ex-soccer player Juan Carlos Unzué received this Saturday in Pamplona the Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sports Merit with which his sporting values are recognized, which he has thanked but after warning that his happiness It would have been complete if people suffering from ALS like him saw the law they demand approved.
It was the Minister of Culture and Sport, Miquel Iceta, who presented the award to the veteran athlete in an act at the Palacio de Navarra in which he was surrounded by family members; companions of the disease that has afflicted him for years; representatives of the Navarre Football Federation; from Osasuna with its president, Luis Sabalza, at the helm; of the Osasuna Veterans Foundation, among other sports contexts.
Political representatives from UPN, PSN, Geroa Bai, EH Bildu, with the president of the Provincial Parliament, Unai Hualde; several government advisers, including that of Culture and Sports, Rebeca Esnaola; and the president of the regional government, María Chivite.
Unzué claims the unblocking of the ELA law
In front of all of them, after receiving the distinction while sitting in his wheelchair, Juan Carlos Unzué thanked the people who have decided that he deserves this medal, awarded for embodying sports values ”such as effort, work as a team, honesty, perseverance and hope, values that he has also been able to transmit and of which he is a magnificent exponent”, reads the concession decree.
Unzué underlined: “I am very happy about it but I also cannot help telling you, minister, president and people linked to the Government, that I would have been the happiest person in the world if today, in addition to collecting this distinction, I could have thanked you for unblocking the law ELA and that all the aid that we are asking for is already effective”, he stressed.
This would serve “so that all the people who are going to be diagnosed with ALS starting tomorrow and so that all current ALS patients can have a dignified life, and that no one else has to be forced to die because they feel that they are ruining their lives.” their families for this lack of aid”, he said.
Shortly after, in statements to journalists, he stated that “it is very good to receive awards, but the best award I can receive now is that this ELA law is active, that it is processed, that it is carried out and that obviously you help them arrive for each and all my companions ”.
He has stressed that “there are colleagues with illness who decide to die because they feel that the economic aspect, in addition to the consequences of the disease itself, leads them to it”, he has had an impact after establishing himself as a spokesperson for the “clear message of what we need ”, in a speech that has been long and emotionally applauded by the hundred people present.
Iceta acknowledges that “there are pending tasks”
The minister picked up the glove in his subsequent speech, acknowledging that Unzué “has explained better than millions of words why you are a recipient of this award, because we honor a sporting career but above all we honor a person who with his example, word and effort encourages us all and gives us homework”.
“Indeed, we have pending tasks”, Iceta has warned to explain that in the Government of Spain the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Inclusion and the Ministry of Social Rights work for a comprehensive approach to a problem that is not only health, and also studies the legislative possibilities to address it.
“Today you have shown once again why you are a reference, encouragement and encouragement so that we all live up to your effort, your capacity for resistance, your example and your smile. Because we will win as long as we are able to fight and smile at the same time”, said the minister after thanking the honoree.
Later, in statements to journalists, he stressed his government’s interest in addressing this demand to which society itself is also very sensitive, as it shows that “normally when an award is given, the emotional ones are the winners, but in this case the excited ones were the ones who gave the prize. That makes the difference what things we are talking about”.
Shortly before, the president of Navarra, María Chivite, had opened the event, who has glossed on the values of “effort and resilience” that Unzué embodies today after completing a successful career in the sports elite, and who serves as an “example and reference” for Young. “Thank you for so much”, the president has settled.