Politics and Sports - Association With Football

Association With Football

The most infamous declaration of politics and sport was the Football War between El Salvador and Honduras. Though the build-up to the war had to do with more socio-economic issues like immigration and land reform, the impetus for war was an inflammation of tensions set off by rioters during the second North American qualifying round for the 1970 FIFA World Cup. Disturbances broke out during the first game in Tegucigalpa, but the second leg saw the situation get considerably worse in San Salvador. Honduran fans were roughed up, the Honduran flag and national anthem were insulted, and the emotions of both nations became considerably agitated. In retaliation, violence against Salvadoran residents in Honduras, including several Vice Consuls, increased. An unknown number of Salvadorans were killed or brutalized, and tens of thousands began fleeing the country. The press of both nations contributed to a growing climate of near-hysteria, and on June 27, 1969, twelve days after the second-leg game, Honduras broke diplomatic relations with El Salvador. On July 14, 1969, the Salvadoran army launched an attack against Honduras. The Organization of American States negotiated a cease-fire which took effect on July 20, with the Salvadoran troops withdrawn in early August.

Athletic Bilbao are famous for the cantera policy of signing only Basque players. Along with fellow Basque side Real Sociedad, Bilbao raised the still banned Basque flag in a game shortly after the death of General Francisco Franco.

Israel was one of the founding members of the Asian Football Confederation following its own independence in 1948 (prior to that it played under the banner of "Palestine/Eretz Yisrael"). After the 1974 Asian Cup in Iran (and a tense loss to Iran), Kuwait and other Arab states refused to play them. Following this, they were expelled from the confederation and spent a few years trying to qualify from such continental bodies as the OFC before joining UEFA.

In the 1986 Mexico World Cup, following the Falklands War between Argentina and the United Kingdom, Diego Maradona scored a goal via the "Hand of God" to fuel the flames between the two sides. To make matters worse, this was an unrecognised foul using the hand to score a goal.

At the 1998 FIFA World Cup, held in France, Iran recorded their first World Cup victory in the second game, beating the United States 2–1, with Estili and Mahdavikia scoring goals for Iran. The match was preheated with much excitement because of each country's political stance after the Iranian revolution; however, in an act of defiance against all forms of hatred or politics in sports, both sides presented one another with gifts and flowers and stood together for a photograph before the match kicked-off.

The 2004 AFC Asian Cup held in China made headlines due to events that took place during the final between China and Japan, apparently due to historical relations dating back to World War II (see Second Sino-Japanese War and Nanjing Massacre). As the Japanese national anthem was being played, the home fans expressed their anti-Japanese sentiment by drowning out the national anthem with their chants. The Chinese home fans also continually booed the players, visiting fans and officials as they watched Japan defeat China 3–1. After the match, some Chinese fans rioted outside the Beijing Worker's Stadium.

The 2007 AFC Asian Cup was another facet of sporting politics. The victorious Iraqi team came out despite ethnic factionalism in their country and an invasion by the American military to win the biggest Asian football tournament. Following a previous round win, Iraqi military spokesman Brigadier General Qassim Moussawi said they wanted to stop "terrorists, Sunni extremists and criminals from targeting the joy of the people." There was controversy after the Iraqi captain Younis Mahmoud said he "dared not return to his homeland because of the conditions created by the U.S. occupation." President Jalal Talabani said it was disappointing they couldn't celebrate at home with the fans. Yet many hailed the victory as a show of unity. Iraq's Brazilian coach Jorvan Vieira signified the importance of the win in saying "This is not just about football...this is more important than that...This has brought great happiness to a whole country. This is not about a team, this is about human beings." Likewise, Saudi coach Hélio dos Anjos chimed in that "Iraq deserved to win today...They were very motivated and we knew the whole world was supporting this team." Likewise, the American leadership also came out in praise of the Iraqi win. However, Iraqi midfielder Ahmed Manajid said that if he was not playing for his country he would have fought in his native Fallujah against U.S. forces. He was one of several players who criticised then-U.S. president George W. Bush for using the team's success in his campaign speeches.

Once again, on September 6, 2008, Armenia and Turkey faced each other in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification match in Yerevan. In an unprecedented step, Turkish President Abdullah Gul was invited to watch the match, where he and his Armenia counterpart, Serzh Sargsyan, sat together, albeit behind bullet-proof glass. However, the Turkish national anthem was almost drowned out by booing from 35,000 Armenian fans, showing there is still a lot of mistrust between the two countries. However, the gesture "between the presidents showed that they believed 'football diplomacy' had achieved the most important result." This was a first for the two countries divided by the legacy of the 20th century's first genocide.

In 2009, France and the Republic of Ireland met in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification play-off, where the winner of the two-legged tie progressed through to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. After a 1–1 aggregate draw, the match went into extra time at France's National Stadium. The winning goal came from France's William Gallas, but in the build-up, Thierry Henry twice handled the ball, before passing to Gallas to score. It was seen as a "Hand of Frog" goal, in reference to the similar "Hand of God" goal in the match between Argentina and England. It the became an international incident with Irish Taoiseach Brian Cowen demanding a replay and the French President telling him to "stick to politics". The replay was not given.

In 2010 relations between Iran and the UAE took a turn for the worse when the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran sent a letter to the AFC complaining about the misuse of the Persian Gulf name. "The move was made after the UAE misrepresented the name Persian Gulf during a match between Iran's Sepahan and the UAE's Al Ain. The Emirate television displayed various banners showing a fictitious name for the Persian Gulf during the match between Iran's Sepahan and the UAE's Al Ain. The AFC must take serious measures to deal with UAE actions of the sort", Taj added. “The UAE side must be fined for showing a fictitious name for the Persian Gulf during the live broadcast of the match." In addition to official comments from the UAE in regards to comparing the three disputed islands of Greater Tunb, the Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa, held by Iran, to the occupation of Palestine, calls were made for a downgrade of ties. This also comes after the Islamic Solidarity Games, to be held in Iran, were canceled over the dispute of the Persian Gulf label.

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Famous quotes containing the words association with, association and/or football:

    Association with other people corrupts our character Mespecially when we have none.
    Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)

    The spiritual kinship between Lincoln and Whitman was founded upon their Americanism, their essential Westernism. Whitman had grown up without much formal education; Lincoln had scarcely any education. One had become the notable poet of the day; one the orator of the Gettsyburg Address. It was inevitable that Whitman as a poet should turn with a feeling of kinship to Lincoln, and even without any association or contact feel that Lincoln was his.
    Edgar Lee Masters (1869–1950)

    You can’t be a Real Country unless you have A BEER and an airline—it helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a BEER.
    Frank Zappa (1940–1993)