Banning Iran from the World Cup

Maybe I am missing something here, but I honestly don’t get the politicians who are calling for a World Cup ban on Iran.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand the argument over Iran’s nuclear projects, but can’t see how banning Iranian footballers and football fans from Germany will fix any of that. A ban is not likely to make Iran’s president have a change of heart and say, “I am so sorry for saying all the things I said about Israel and others. I’ll take it all back if you let us play football with the rest of the boys this summer. Oh, and to show that I really mean it, I am going to stop playing with nukes too!”

Think about it, when was the last time that bans like this made politicians change their minds? I can’t remember any examples, can you?

The truth of the matter is that, just like with other countries, there are millions of Iranian football fans who just want to see their team participate in the biggest single sport event in the world. Banning “Team Melli‿ from the World Cup will only affect them and not the politicians.

Furthermore, banning Iran will set precedence for the future. Next time there is another international political disagreement, there will be calls for another ban on another country, and then another. Before you know it, the World Cup competition will become a toy for politicians who have agendas of their own.

I applaud FIFA for sticking to its principals. Football and politics should not be mixed. Let’s keep the politicians out of the green rectangle and let them find other ways of solving their problems.