MADRID (AP) — A small sport popular in Spain’s northern Basque Country has stirred up a political controversy that triggered court action and fanned the region's long-held feelings of nationalism.

There has been back-and-forth spats between sports officials and politicians after the Basque Country region was allowed to compete as a nation in international competitions in pelota vasca, a sport that was in the Olympics more than 100 years ago but is now rarely seen in most parts of the world.

Even sport's highest court was asked to get involved.

The dispute culminated this weekend in what many had thought was an impossible scenario: The Basque Country and Spain playing against each other in an international sporting event — the pelota vasca Nations League.

The Basque Country, also known

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