Political Football

[The Good Son]

An interesting piece from Simon Kuper on channel4.com.
http://www.channel4.com/news/general/political_football

[Block G Raptor]

Interesting piece on Neil Lennon in there

[geysir]

Doesn't compare to Simon's best ever article (http://football.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,545571,00.html).:)

[HarpoJoyce]

I've read some of Kuper's work and while there is a place from Politics and History in sport. With Kuper I feel he embraces the divisions politics bring to sport, most sports people (supporters and participants) grow out of this divisive thinking after a short time being involved in the game.

There is a tolerance in football which allows more extremist actions to take place in a football stadium than would be allowed in other areas of society.
Maybe there is a expectation that the extremists grow-up and move towards the middle after a time.
Kuper appears to want to magnify divisions, creating general labels for clubs or countries. Ignoring actions which bring people to assembly in the one place, for the one purpose (cliché alert: bringing people together in the name of sport).

My political historical figures in sport are entire teams who hold football matches in the face of violent threat. The numerous times England play up in Windsor Park with bombs going off near the stadium. Tough luck, match still went ahead.
Luckily Our Wee Country archived some contempory material
http://www.ourweecountry.co.uk/bombsatwindsor.html

Hotpress
www.hotpress.com/archive/2827469.html
"..The last time the England football team visited Belfast in 1987 they were greeted by a car bomb going off in a Windsor Park side street. ..."

You see 'cos those matches went ahead it defeats Kuper's divisive-centric arguements. On Neil Lennon Kuper missed one of the better one liner's when an IFA Official described Lennon as someone who was intimidated by a person with 10p in his pocket.

You can present sport and politics in many diffferent ways, the Zionist of the 1930's promote their own team. Palestine.
http://www.rsssf.com/tablesp/pales-intres-det.html
They were forced to put a token Arab on the board of the PFA to appease FIFA who rightly considered their all Jewish Board as only representeing 12% of the populace. This team was boycotted by Arab Christian, Arab Muslims and Armenians when they played Egypt in a World Cup Qualifer.

The history books will say Palestine, but the reality is different. I'm interested in the reality. It means going to stadiums and watching teams and talking with supporters. If I'm not able to go to certain matches than I'll try to find out about what I'm into through other means.

Kuper may continue to explain football to his traditional non-football readership at the Financial Times but I prefer to use source material.

[Block G Raptor]

Doesn't compare to Simon's best ever article (http://football.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,545571,00.html).:)

WTF did he leave the match early or something. not a mention of McAteers goal

[Torn-Ado]

Doesn't compare to Simon's best ever article (http://football.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,545571,00.html).:)


Facing Patrick Kluivert and Ruud van Nistelrooy was the central defensive pairing of Steve Staunton (an Aston Villa reserve) and Richard Dunne (a Manchester City player who, despite being only 21, was by far the fastest man on the pitch).

A typo in there by any chance?

[geysir]

WTF did he leave the match early or something. not a mention of McAteers goal
What would you expect, considering that he's a Dutchman, that goal must of ripped his insides apart, what do they call it - benevolent selective memory:D

[Jamjar]

I presume he'll include Johann Cruyff who retired from international football rather than go to support the military junta in Argentina '78.

[DannyInvincible]

I came across the following article on the relationship between football, politics and capital in the Guardian yesterday and I thought it was an interesting and well-researched read, so I'll just stick it in the "political football" thread here for anyone else who might be interested as I'm not sure where else to stick it and I'm not sure it's worth an entire new thread of its own either. :o

'Want to understand politics in the last 25 years? Look at football': https://www.theguardian.com/football/in-bed-with-maradona/2017/dec/14/politics-football-premier-league-capitalism-neoliberalism

[Hitman]

Another Guardian piece, this time on Hungarian PM Victor Orban's football obsession.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/jan/11/viktor-orban-hungary-prime-minister-reckless-football-obsession

[NeverFeltBetter]

I was looking around for where to post these, and it seems here is good as any.

Firstly, an apology from Drogheda United's Luke Rossiter (https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/drogheda-united-player-apologises-over-belfast-trial-tweet-1.3448256)over a nasty tweet (http://leagueofireland.ie/index.php/2018/03/28/drogheda-united-horrified-by-a-players-tweet-on-paddy-jackson-trial/) he wrote regards the recent rape trial, he remains temporarily suspended from selection.

Secondly, Wexford remove a pro-choice message (https://www.thesun.ie/sport/football/2379502/wexford-fc-set-to-remove-pro-choice-billboard-outside-ferrycarrig-park-after-it-sparks-controversy-online/) from a billboard located outside the ground (so, not breaking any rules technically) after the "apolitical nature" of the club was brought into question.

Two very different circumstances obviously, but I found them interesting examples of clubs reacting to events outside of football. In the first instance, it makes me wonder what the red lines are for other clubs over player behavior in the public sphere and in the second, if any advertising related to the upcoming referendum being displayed by any business will be subject to backlash.