Dylan Martinez / Reuters
Again and again political messages are made at major events. The raised fist against racism at the 1968 Olympic Games is one of the most famous images. These moments are particularly present at this year’s World Cup.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser sits next to Fifa President Gianni Infantino November 23 during the Germany vs Japan match. On her left arm she wears the “One Love” armband. A few days earlier, FIFA had banned all nations from wearing the bandage.
In response, the German team poses with their hands in front of their mouths – in protest against the threatened sanctions by Fifa.
The English team, like all other teams, submitted to this decision. Any captain wearing the politically motivated armband would automatically receive a yellow card.
As before every game in the English Premiere League, the players of England and Wales kneel. This gesture harks back to American football player Colin Kaepernick protesting the lack of attention given to racism and police brutality in the United States in 2016.
With a rainbow flag and a political Superman shirt, this activist ran across the lawn of Lusail Stadium. “Save Ukraine” on the front of the blue T-shirt, “Respect for Iranian Woman” on the back – the Italian’s three messages at the World Cup match between Portugal and Uruguay went around the football world.
The images were not shown during the TV broadcast, which has been the norm in world football for years in the event of such incidents. The rainbow flag was picked up by referee Alireza Faghani and sent off. The Italian, who himself played top-flight football for clubs in his home country, in India and Jordan, has already had a number of speedster campaigns behind him – including in the 2010 German World Cup match in South Africa against Spain.
The death of the young Kurd Mahsa Amini has brought the masses to the streets in Iran for weeks. The protests have many facets. As seen here, a spectator holds up a jersey with her name on it during the game against Wales.
A police officer checks Iranian flags with a cross held by Iranian fans at the stadium.
For many Iranians, football is very irrelevant right now. Before the start of the World Cup, many of them called on their national players to show solidarity with the demonstrators in the country and to show this openly during the tournament.
The Iranian players did this by using the national anthem as a minute’s silence to protest. The anthem is that of the Islamic Republic, against which thousands are demonstrating across the country, risking their lives. However, many Iranians may not have noticed the silence of the national team: Iranian state television interrupted the transmission. The games are shown with a time delay in Iran in order to make exactly such protest actions disappear.
The American team’s captain, Tyler Adams, mispronounces the country’s name during the November 28 press conference ahead of the game against Iran, to the displeasure of an Iranian journalist. The journalist immediately corrects Tyler and asks him, “Are you okay with representing your country, where black people face so much discrimination within their own borders?”
“Discrimination is everywhere,” Adams replies. One thing he learned abroad is how to integrate into different cultures. And further:
“I grew up in a white family of African American heritage and background. I had a sense of different cultures and found it easy to navigate different cultures. Not everyone has this ease to do that. Apparently it takes longer for some to understand. I think education is very important. You just enlightened me on your country’s pronunciation. So it’s a process. As long as you see progress, that’s the most important thing.”
Fans hold a Palestinian flag with the words “Free Palestine” on November 29 during the Qatar-Netherlands soccer match (pictured) and the Tunisia-Australia game on November 29.
A Serbian fan holds up a controversial banner during the game against Brazil on November 24. It shows a map of Kosovo with a Serbian flag in it and the words “Nema Predaje” (No Surrender) as a reminder to Serbs in northern Kosovo to resist government pressure. Because the Serbian national team is said to have hung the flag in the dressing room, the Kosovar Football Association and the Kosovar ministers have Fifa via Twitter asked to take action.
What further actions and messages will be seen in Qatar remains to be seen. The fact is that since Qatar was selected as the venue for this World Cup, it has sparked a great deal of debate and discussion – and will continue to do so.
Text excerpts from published NZZ articles and agency material.