It is bad enough that politics and business are so intertwined in most countries that the relationship between the two is best described as a "revolving door". The United States is certainly no exception to this interesting affliction, with many a politician finding himself in the uncomfortable position of having to kow-tow to powerful business owners in order to get elected (or remain in office).
But the nice thing about sport is the fact that it is an area that is, well, technically supposed to remain politics-free--at least on the surface. Sports are one area where people should be able to put aside one's political affiliation, religious beliefs, national allegiance and the like in order to come together and support one's favourite team.
Football, or soccer, as it is known in the United States is certainly one of those sports. After all, billions of people worldwide watch it, play it, follow it as much as a religion. And unlike, let's say, the interestingly-named World Series in baseball, the World Cup is actually a real international affair in which teams from every corner of the globe have the chance to come together for a month of highly entertaining spectacle that has everyone glued to their televisions, mobile devices, computers, et al.
It is also an opportunity for people to forget their woes for the time being. For instance, when Italy won the World Cup back in 2006, the country was in the throes of the calcipoli scandal, which had shed a negative light on some of the country's biggest football squads. As most are aware, the most notable punishment was Juventus being stripped of their Scudetti and relegated to Serie B, something that still riles Bianconeri fans to this day.
The cold war is back...with a vengeance?
Now, unless if one has been, well, living in a cave, anyone would certainly be aware of the growing crisis over in Eastern Europe that brought back the animosity between the United States and Russia that never really seemed to go away, even after the end of the Cold War. Without getting into to much detail, the conflict stems from Russia's percieved military aggression in the Ukrainian region of Crimea following the outbreak of conflict between pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian factions in late February.
The war of words begun when two US senators, Mark Kirk and Dan Coates took it upon themselves to write a letter to Sepp Blatter calling for the suspension of Russia's FIFA membership. The opening paragraph reads as follows:
"In light of Russia’s military occupation of a sovereign Ukraine, we respectfully ask that you urgently convene an emergency session of FIFA to consider suspending Russia’s membership in FIFA, stripping Russia of the right to host the 2018 World Cup, and denying the Russian National Team the right to participate in the upcoming 2014 World Cup in Brazil".
Well, Senators Kirk and Coates really did not expect the Russians just to sit by and do nothing, did they? Lo and behold, two Russian Duma (their equivalent of a Parliament) members, Alexander Sidyakin and Michael Markelov, bit back with a letter also addressed to the same Mr. Blatter shortly after.
And not surprisingly, the Russians' letter begins in the same vein, as seen below: "In light of [the] US's military aggression..." with their grievance stemming from the United States' actions in nations such as the former Yugslovia, Iraq, and Libya.
Tit for tat: Russia has responded to the United States petition with one of their own:
Politics has no place in sports
In 2010, the Iranian football federation issued an apology. The reason? Not because the Middle Eastern nation had actually offended anyone, but because one of their officials had sent a New Year's message to Israel. Due to the ongoing conflict between the two sides, the Iranians have always sent holiday greetings to all members of FIFA, except the Jewish nation, which it has repeatedly refused to recognize due to its "Zionist origins".
And the feeling of animosity goes both ways. The last two these two sides played was back in September 1974, which finished as a 1-0 victory in favour of Iran; in fact, Israel has never beaten them in competition whatsoever.
But, in looking back to the United States-Russia issue: both teams have of course, qualified for the upcoming World Cup, with the Stars and Stripes being placed in the "Group of Death" alongside Germany, Ghana, and Portugal. As for the Russians, they will have to contend with Belgium, South Korea, and Algeria.
In the event that both sides somehow manage to get out of their respective groups, it is a possibility that they may end up playing in the knockout stages. And although this is all merely hypothetical speculation, what would happen then? Would senators and Duma members from both sides get themselves into a tiff and try to prevent the match from happening? (This, of course, is implied with a touch of sarcasm). Or would they simmer down for 90 minutes and fully get behind their respective squads?
Possible showdown on the pitch: If the US and Russia get out of their groups, they just might face off during the knockout rounds:
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Certainly the players would just want to get on with it; after all, they are not politicians and are just there to do what they love doing best--playing football. Hence, just as racism nor any kind of intolerance has no place on the pitch, and countless campaigns have sprung up in an attempt to stamp it out, neither does politics.
Especially if it threatens to make what we all know as the beautiful game become unecessarily ugly and unpleasant for both fans and neutral supporters alike.
