11 Jun Should Ahmadinejad Be Allowed to Attend the World Cup?
11.06.06
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8 Comments
Today’s game between Iran and Mexico is not without political controversy. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has repeatedly denied that the Holocaust ever occurred, has indicated his desire to attend the World Cup competition. “If you make it to the second round, then I would try to join you.” According to the New York Times, “German officials have been under pressure to ban President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad because he has labeled the Holocaust a myth. But officials have said that under the rules of the soccer federation, FIFA, they cannot ban a head of state.”
To my mind, this is a close call. I cannot imagine what Germans must feel at the thought of allowing a loathesome character like Ahmadinejad to set foot on German soil. Holocaust denial is a crime in Germany, and Ahmadinejad is the most important Holocaust-denier on the planet. Jewish leaders in Germany have described Ahmadinejad as a “second Hitler” who should be barred from attending the World Cup. And yet infusing politics into sport has tarnished numerous Olympic events. A strong case can be made that there is no room for politics in the World Cup.
What are your views? If Ahmadinejad wants to attend Iranian World Cup matches in Germany, should he be allowed to do so? Scroll down and vote.
Roger: And an added irony is that Iran’s game today against Mexico is in Nuremburg. I don’t know if Nuremburg would be a venue if Iran makes it to the Round of 16, though. I have been writing on the “frozen conflicts” in the former Sovet Union and there is at least one soccer-related story there. Moldova is embroiled in a separatist conflict in which a region of the country, Transnistria, has been trying to form its own state. Due to various illicit activities the Transnistrian separatist leaders are flush with money. The son of the “president” of the separatists is a huge soccer fan so they built an international-competition class stadium with all the latest amenities. The original stadium in the main part of Moldova, though, is falling apart. So, for a few games there was the strange sort of truce in which the Moldovan national team played its home games in the sepratist enclave of Transnistria during an ongoing secessionist crisis. You’d think this was a nice “hands across Moldova” kind of moment, but the seperatist leader denied entry of the Moldovan President into the enclave so he could not see the games, thus exacerbating tensions. Oh well.… Read more »
On a non-soccer related sidenote: the official Transnistrian/PMR website is really a must see. George Orwell would be proud – and I bet someone has been spending a lot of money – see here, here and here, and then see the Ilascu judgment of the European Court of Human Rights here.
Just lovely.
Marko:
Not to hijack a thread that should be about Iran and soccer, I’ll just note that the report I wrote on behalf of the NY City Bar concerning the international legal issues of the attempted Transnistrian secession is avaliable here. The Transnitrian websites, by the way, have undergone a major renovation in the last few months. Clearly an influx of money and/or PR expertise.
I’ll blog on this at greater length this week or next.
And, to at least mention soccer, I’ll just ask if anyone finds it a little strange to watch a game between Angola and Portugal? See this report concerning the marchup between the former colony and colonial power.
That should have been “match-up” in the last sentence of my previous comment.
More on the story from Reuters here. The Bavarian Interior Minister reportedly said, “A criminal like Ahmadinejad is not welcome in Germany. Only his diplomatic passport would prevent his arrest.” That and the fact that the Iranian team looked pitiful today and they appear unlikely to advance.
In addition, Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center is petitioning for Chancellor Merkel to formally announce that Ahmadinejad is unwelcome. Details here. Hier states that “Although the German government cannot refuse Ahmadinejad entry into the country because as a Head of State he does not need a visa, Germany has a moral obligation to state unequivocally and publicly that a visit by a head of state who denies the Holocaust and has called for the obliteration of the State of Israel is not welcome. If President Ahmadinejad pays no penalty for his antisemitism, Holocaust denial and genocidal threats against Israel, then we legitimize his message by allowing him to sit in the VIP section of the World Cup before a viewing audience of billions. Seventy years ago, the nations of the world came to Berlin to participate in the 1936 Olympics hosted by Nazi Germany. Then, too, many said that their motivation was sports, not politics. But Hitler used the Olympics to prop up his stature as an international statesman. That is exactly what Ahmadinejad will do unless Germany tells him that proponents of antisemitism and genocide have no place at the World Cup.”
Freedom of Speech and Football
There seems to be a big uproar in Germany over the fact that the Iranian President might decide to attend the world cup. A Jewish group wants Germany to ban him from attending, though as he is a head of state that seems unlikely. However, it is not c…
Great photos and commentary on the quiet protests of Iranians available at Iran Regime Change here. Women are prohibited from attending football matches in Iran. But they were out in force rooting the Iranian team on.