How European Football Became a Weapon of Political Pressure

The slogan Sports is separated from politics and religion has always been applied in international stadiums, and throughout history, every player or team that uses a match or a sporting event to express a political opinion has been subjected to punishment.

But as soon as matters reached the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which touched the pride of several Western countries, all the rules fell and an auction market began in which the boundaries between politics and sports faded, which once again highlighted the double standards of Western countries in dealing with various crises around the world.

Politics was never far from sports, and the overlap between them increased in light of the exorbitant expenditures on various games, which reached astronomical figures. Fun was never abstract, but until earlier many sought to hide the phenomenon of politicization of sports and were revealing part of it.

The case also applies to the issue of support for homosexuality, which has become apparent in some European stadiums by placing its logo on the players' arms, on their shirts, or in the stands, which is not devoid of political orientations that express meanings related to the rule of certain types of human relations and ultimately serve the idea of politicization rejected at the same time by many sports federations.

 

Double Standards

Senegalese player Idrissa Gaye, Paris Saint-Germain, caused an earthquake that reverberated around the world, without uttering a single word.

Press reports confirmed that the Senegalese player, who is known to be a devout Muslim, decided not to participate in his team's match against Montpellier in the penultimate round of the French League on May 14, 2022, in which his team wore rainbow-colored shirts, as part of a campaign to support gays.

What the reports said did not pass easily to the LGBTQ+ support associations in the European country, one of them launched a fierce attack on the 32-year-old Senegalese player, accusing him of discrimination and racism.

Meanwhile, the Ethics Committee of the French Football Federation asked the player to clarify his position and the reason for his absence from the match.

In his letter to the PSG player, the Federation said: “We invite you to silence the rumors and to clarify your support with unquestionable evidence, such as sending your photo while wearing the shirt in question. In the event that you refuse to participate in the campaign, you confirm the correctness of the discriminatory behavior and the rejection of the other, and in this case, you must realize the extent of this grave mistake.”

Under intense pressure in France, and accused of so-called homophobia, millions of fans around the world announced their support for Idrissa Gueye and launched the hashtag #WeareallIdrissa on Twitter, which quickly became the most popular around the world.

Many fans around the world also attacked the French and European position in general, and considered it racist against the player's religious convictions, starting with Senegalese President Macky Sall, passing through his colleagues in the Senegalese professional team in Europe, led by Cheikhou Kouyate (Crystal Palace) and Ismaila Sarr (Watford), and Nampalys Mendy (Leicester City).

Ismaila Sarr faced strong criticism from his team's fans, who demanded his expulsion from the club, forcing him to delete the post in which he supported his colleague, while Leicester and Crystal Palace said they would urgently speak to their players about the case.

Supporters of Idrissa Gueye's stance considered that what is happening with him and those who support him is an infringement on freedom of opinion and belief, and it is one of the principles for which homosexuals are supported in the West.

 

Political Messages

Idrissa Gueye's crisis prompted thousands of tweeters to recall the volatile Western stances, the use of sport to pass political messages when needed, the slogan of separating sport from politics at other times, and double standards in dealing with several humanitarian cases.

British journalist Piers Morgan responded positively to Idrissa Gueye's silent stance, saying: “Freedom of expression should allow football players to publicly decide which political or social issues they wish to support.”

Tweeters talked about the unconditional support that Ukraine received from various sports parties in Europe after the Russian invasion, and the series of sanctions that affected the Russian side in response to this war, although this kind of stance could not have been taken until recently under the pretext of sport separated from politics.

Sports activists and media professionals had objected to the double standards that the International Football Association (FIFA) used, after imposing sanctions on Russia because of its war on Ukraine, in return ignoring what Russia itself did in Syria, and what “Israel” has been doing since its occupation of Palestine.

Over the past years, FIFA has been stifling those who pass political, national, and humanitarian messages through sports, but recently double standards have emerged and become clear and evident. FIFA's bias towards the West has been showing, as it was never about human rights or peoples' issues but was about the West and its biased policy toward a particular race and not others.

The European Football Association, which punished Russia and prevented it from raising its national anthem, is the same that punished the Scottish club Celtic for the mere presence of Palestinian flags in the stands as an expression of Palestinian rights in 2016.

When Mesut Ozil spoke about the crisis of Uyghur Muslims in China, which the USA and the UK officially described as genocide, Arsenal came out and distanced himself from his player's statements, saying that he does not engage in politics as a principle.

The former Sevilla striker, Malian star Frederic Omar Kanoute, was also sanctioned by the Spanish Football Association in 2009 after he revealed a shirt he was wearing with the word “Palestine” written on it in several languages.

When the Egyptian star Mohamed Aboutrika raised his famous message of solidarity in support of the Gaza Strip and Palestine in the face of the Israeli aggression back in 2008. He was subjected to widespread criticism and penalties and was accused of integrating politics into sports.

However, what was forbidden to Aboutrika was allowed by Atalanta player, Ruslan Malinovsky, who lifted his shirt to reveal a phrase that read “No war in Ukraine.”

In Britain, players were also allowed to lift their shirts to send messages of support to Ukraine, and referees were ordered not to give them any warning.

It is noteworthy that FIFA law stipulates that politics and sports should not be confused, especially Article 6 of the Laws of the Game on sports clothing, which affirms that “the compulsory basic equipment (players clothing such as shirt, pants, socks, and shoes) shall not contain any political, religious or personal emblems, statements or images. punished by the competition organizer or by FIFA.”

The FIFA Disciplinary Code also contains fines and penalties up to suspension against any player who commits a political act, such as: inciting violence or hatred for a particular group or country, inciting the public, or carrying out offensive or discriminatory behavior.

 

Football Exploit

After what happened with Idrissa Gueye, a large section of sports fans has become convinced that everything that is being chanted by the governing bodies of football in Europe is nothing but slogans, which come out only when needed while disappearing completely according to whims.

What made matters inflamed was the coincidence of the Idrissa Gueye incident with Jack Daniels, the English player, Blackpool, admitting his homosexuality, and the celebration of the football community in Britain and their support for him.

In this respect, matters have become of double standards, you are free and worthy of support only if you are gay or agree to support gays, and you have no freedom if you choose not to support them.

This also happened with the current football analyst on the beIN Sports channels, Mohamed Aboutrika, who was subjected to a fierce campaign in the Western media because of his statements about homosexuality in the English Premier League.

Aboutrika had criticized the English Premier League for supporting gays in the two rounds between November 27 and December 2, 2021, and for team leaders to wear a rainbow badge, which caused a media frenzy at the time.

Aboutrika said: “Homosexuality does not fit Islam and is against human instinct, especially since all heavenly religions fight this phenomenon, and it is not a human right,” calling on Muslim players in the English Premier League to oppose manifestations of support for homosexuality by refraining from participating in these two rounds.

Aboutrika's statements shook the supporters of homosexuality in Western society, so voices called for his dismissal and accused the channel where he works of promoting hate speech against homosexuals.

The Fare campaign against discrimination in football said in an official statement: “It is disappointing to see Egyptian legend Aboutrika ignoring the rainbow campaign in the Premier League and using religious stances to do so. He's got space to deny rights and the existence of a community without objection from beIN Sports.”

In this regard, Palestinian writer and researcher Muhammad Khair Musa explained in a statement to Al-Estiklal: “You can imagine the extent of terrorism practiced by governments and institutions in the capitals of freedom after they were subject to pressure from homosexual lobbies, and a crime that requires the media to incite this Muslim player who exercised the lowest human rights by choosing not to play such a match.”

“You can imagine how homosexuality turned into a sacred ideology that causes institutions to rise up simply by the suspicion of its rejection, even if it is a silent rejection without public expression,” he continued.

“The battle with homosexuality is one of the fiercest battles of identity and not only one of the battles of values; even if all efforts are not mobilized in it, and if the ranks are not lined up to confront it, its fire will reach every home,” Mr. Musa added.

On his part, sports journalist Abdalla Tooma said in a statement to Al-Estiklal: “There is a decision in most European countries to ban any moves aimed at putting pressure on such activities carried out by associations supporting homosexuality.”

“Western governments see football as a suitable environment to spread the ideas that they want to impose on their citizens, and what happened during the period of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis is the best approach to that,” he added.

“There is constant exploitation of football as it is the most popular game in the world, watched by half of the planet's population. Therefore, using football to pass these messages is a new method used by Western governments according to their agendas and ideology,” Mr. Tooma continued.