"Sports has nothing to do with politics" ... a cry launched by German Thomas Bach, head of the International Olympic Committee, about a year and a half ago, it seems that it has failed to repel the invasion of political and military battles for the fields of sports competition, after the repercussions of the Ukrainian -Russian war.
With the entry of the battles of the Russian -Ukrainian war on its seventh day, the sanctions fired by the forces in support of Kev were accompanied by a sporting penal package targeting Moscow, opened fire in the global sports arena between forces criticizing the fall of sports neutrality for FIFA, UEFA and the International Olympic Committee, and another that you see that these decisions are inevitable to pressureRussia.
Wholesale penalties
Sports sanctions began with the withdrawal of the Champions League final organization from St. Petersburg, then Russia excluded the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, and prohibited all its teams and clubs from the FIFA Championships, and extended to Spartak Moscow, which was also excluded from the European League.
Formula 1 sports that canceled their annual race, skiing and swimming, and volleyball that withdrew the World Cup from Russia, joined, while other games excluded Russian athletes in general.
The European Clubs Association (IKA) decided to immediately suspend the membership of the 7 Russian clubs: CSKA Moscow, Wacrasandar, Locomotiv Moscow, Rostov, Robin Kazan, Spartak Moscow, and Zenit St. Petersburg.
Several clubs and federations have completed sponsorship contracts with Russian companies, and in contrast, Adidas ended its sponsorship of the Russian Football Association, while billionaire Roman Abramovich, close to President Putin, abdicated the presidency of Chelsea.
In the stadiums, some federations allowed passes to political messages to support the Ukrainian side in the war, while the Premier League has disrupted some laws, according to the British newspaper "Daily Mail", as it issued instructions to the referees not to punish the players who take off their shirts to show internal shirts bearing support messages to Ukraine,Although the law is strict in this regard.
Policy mixing with sports
During the past decades, the International Olympic Committee, unlike the International Football Association and sports federations of various games around the world, was keen to confirm the lack of confusion of politics with sports, but the last war showed clear changes in this regard.
The International Olympic Committee issued a recommendation to deprive Russia and the allies of Belarus, from any sporting activity during the coming period or hosting any sporting events.
The text of the statement stated: "In order to protect the integrity of international sports competitions and to ensure the safety of all participants, the IOC recommends that international sports federations and sports events invite or allow athletes and officials from Russia and Belarus in international competitions."
Despite the previous decisions, it received a flood of criticism from everyone, as some accused the International Olympic Committee and FIFA of mixing politics with sports, while some considered that "the decisions came late for fear of Russia because of the common interests and care contracts."
The English press launched a violent attack on the continental and international federations, which refused to exclude Russia from its heroism, as English writer Barney Ronai, in the British newspaper "The Guardian", published an article entitled: "UEFA and FIFA very late: Washing Russian sport performed its purpose", in reference to the use of sports to cleanThe Russian government image through sponsorship contracts for Russian companies such as "Jazz Broom" for the European Union for the game and some of the old continent clubs.
UEFA ended his relationship with "Jazem Brom" after 10 years of contract, in a year when the most important football final for clubs was held at the "Jazem Broom Arena" stadium.
For its part, the American "ABC" channel, through its website, criticized the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee, and said, "Overnight and under the recommendation of the International Olympic Committee, all athletes and officials of Russia and Belarus were deprived of the international forums in the aftermath of the Russian -Ukrainian war."
"The penalties imposed on athletes were implemented because sport carries a great weight for people (especially the Russians), and therefore can be used to exercise pressure to change behaviors," says Catherine Ordaway, a sports integrity leader at Canberra University in Australia.
The Turkish player Akat Demper refused to wear a shirt asking for the Russian war to stop the Ukraine, during his team, Erzermsbur against Anchroso, in the Local Second Division League, justifying this that the policy should not be mixed with sport, and indicating many incidents in the Middle East in which sport refused to be a party, buildingOn FIFA decisions itself.
Parking change
The decisions issued by the International Olympic Committee, along with a number of sports federations, showed a contradiction with historical regulations and values, related to the necessity of not confusing politics with sports. On the course of history, any player or team was using a match or sports event to express a political opinion subject to punishment.
This point sparked a state of great controversy and discontent among the pioneers of social media, especially in the Middle East, and they cited major penalties against players and clubs in the region during the earlier, under the pretext of confusion between sport and politics, which is completely inconsistent with the current situation.
In more than one clause, the FIFA law stipulates the necessity of not confusing politics and sports, especially Article 6 of the game laws related to sportswear, which confirms that "compulsory basic equipment (players’ clothes, shirts, pants, socks and shoes should not contain any slogans or dataOr political, religious or personal photos, the player's team whose basic equipment contains this will be punished by the competition organizer or by FIFA.
The FIFA Disciplinary Law contains fines and penalties that amount to suspension against any player who does a political action such as incitement to violence or hatred for a specific category or country, provoking the public or implementing aggressive or discriminatory behavior.
There are many decisions issued against teams and players, perhaps among them is to punish Croatia by playing two games outside the home in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers due to racist chants against Iceland, while the Algerian player Fathi Nourin, who refused to face an Israeli competitor in the Judo game, was suspended during the last Olympic Games,To be stopped and coach also for 10 years.
German Thomas Bach, head of the International Olympic Committee himself, had an explicit position in this regard, as mentioned above, where he published an article through the official website of his organization on October 27, 2020, in which he said: "The Olympic Games are a great experience for every athlete, you are partWhoever unites the world. In the Olympic Games, we are all equal, everyone respects the same rules, regardless of social background, sex, race, sexual orientation, or political belief.
"During 1980, as Chairman of the Sports Committee in West Germany, I opposed the idea of boycotting the Olympic Games in Moscow, due to the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet army. I had to realize that the influence of athletes was very weak. Our voices did not hearBy politicians and not sports leaders, it was a very humiliating experience, and the boycott of the 1980 Moscow session led to a retaliatory boycott by the Russians in the 1984 Los Angeles version, and the Soviet army remained 9 years in Afghanistan. "
And he drew: "The Olympic Games have nothing to do with politics. The International Olympic Committee is a civil civil institution, and it is a political neutral at all times, and the Olympics cannot prevent wars and conflicts, but it can set an example for the world in respecting the rules, and building bridges that lead to better understandingBetween peoples, and then a door for peace is opened.
But what was expressed by the President of the International Olympic in his article published about a year and a half ago, came in violation of the organization's decisions after the Russian war on Ukraine, to open the door to criticism.