Antonio Ortega Gutiérrez (17 January 1888 – 15 July 1939) was a Spanish Republican military officer and acting president of Madrid Football Club between 1937 and 1938 during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. He was directly involved in the defense of

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

Spanish Civil War

A professional officer of the Spanish Army, he supported the Republican government during the

. Before the war he was a lieutenant of ''

Carabineros The was an armed carabiniers force of Spain under both the monarchy and the Second Spanish Republic, Second Republic. The formal mission of this paramilitary gendarmerie was to patrol the coasts and borders of the country, operating against ...

'' of the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...

stationed in

Irun Irun (, ) is a town of the Bidasoaldea region in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. History It lies on the foundations of the ancient Oiasso, cited as a Roman- Vasconic town. During the Spanish Civil War, ...

. On 6 August 1936, following the Coup, he was appointed civil governor of

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa ( , ; ; ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiqu ...

. He took command of the Republican forces during the later part of the Campaign of Guipúzcoa after the capture of Augusto Pérez Garmendia at

Oiartzun Oiartzun (, ) is a town and municipality located in the Basque Country, in the province of Gipuzkoa lying at the foot of the massif Aiako Harria (Peñas de Aya in Spanish). Etymology The name traces back to ''Oiasso'' or ''Oiarso'', a Roman to ...

. In 1937 he was appointed secretary of security and joined the

Communist Party of Spain The Communist Party of Spain (; PCE) is a communist party that, since 1986, has been part of the United Left coalition, which is currently part of Sumar. Two of its politicians are Spanish government ministers: Yolanda Díaz (Minister of L ...

. He was also, among other things, responsible for the arrest of

Andreu Nin Andreu Nin i Pérez (; 4 February 1892 – 20 June 1937) was a Spanish politician, trade unionist and translator. He is mainly known for his role in various Spanish left-wing movements of the early 20th century and, later, for his role in the S ...

and because of this, was dismissed by the minister of the interior, Julian Zugazagoitia; eventually being transferred to field command. In March 1939, he was the commander in charge of the III

Army Corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

of the Army of the Centre and supported

Luis Barceló Luis Barceló Jover (31 August 1896 – 15 March 1939) was a Spanish military officer. Spanish Civil War A professional officer of the Spanish Army, he supported the Republican government during the Spanish Civil War. In 1936 he was a majo ...

against the National Defence Council ''(Consejo Nacional de Defensa)'' during what later became the ''

Final offensive of the Spanish Civil War The final offensive of the Spanish Civil War took place between 26 March and 1 April 1939, towards the end of the Spanish Civil War. On 5 March 1939, the Republican Army, led by Colonel Segismundo Casado and the politician Julián Besteiro, ...

''. At the end of the war, he was captured by the

Nationalists Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...

, sentenced to death by a military tribunal and subsequently executed by firing squad in

Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

on 15 July 1939.

President of Real Madrid

As President of Madrid Football Club, as Real Madrid were called during the

, he acted on behalf of

Rafael Sánchez Guerra Rafael may refer to: * Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin * Rafael, California Fiction * ''Rafael'' (TV series), a Mexican telenovela * ''Rafaël'' (film), a 2018 Dutch film People * Rafael (footballer, born 1978) ( ...

, a prominent Republican, who was unable to take an active role in managing the club due to the war. Ortega took over as acting president from another Republican,

Juan Jose Vallejo ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philippi ...

. Together with Gonzalo Aguirre and Valero Rivera, Madrid Vice President and Treasurer, respectively, he was among several Real Madrid board members, captured and executed by Franco's Nationalists, following the city of Madrid's fall.Kassimeris, Christos. (2007). European Football in Black and White: Tackling Racism in Football. Lexington Books. p.22

References

Sources

* Romero, Eladi, Itinerarios de la Guerra Civil española : guía del viajero curioso, Barcelona : Laertes, 2001, 600 p. * Barruso, Pedro, Verano y revolución. La guerra civil en Gipuzkoa' (julio-septiembre de 1936), Edita: Haramburu Editor. San Sebastián, 1996. *Pedro Barruso, GIPUZKOA 1936: VERANO Y REVOLUCIÓN, LA GUERRA CIVIL EN GIPUZKOA (Spanish) *
Pedro Barruso, GIPUZKOA 1936: VERANO Y REVOLUCIÓN, LA GUERRA CIVIL EN GIPUZKOA (Spanish)
* *''Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football'' (2003), Phil Ball

*''List of missing persons https://web.archive.org/web/20141219110248/http://www.jusap.ejgv.euskadi.net/r47-contmh2/es/contenidos/informacion/listado_personas_desaparecidas/es_memoria/o_listado_personas_desaparecidas.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Ortega Gutierrez, Antonio 1888 births 1939 deaths Communist Party of Spain politicians Real Madrid CF presidents Spanish army officers Spanish military personnel of the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction) Executed Spanish people Communists executed by Francoist Spain People executed by Spain by firing squad Perpetrators of political repression in the Second Spanish Republic