More EU politicians call for banning Iran

I agree on that it wouldn´t change Ahmadinejad´s decisions, but you also have to think about the worries of the politicians regarding security and so on.

Never mind they won´t be banned believe you me.

Posted from  Germany

I’ll never understand why it was okay to ban South Africa from international sporting events and not countries like Iran or North Korea.

North Korea should never be allowed to compete for anything.

This just goes to show that nobody is really serious about changing Iran’s backwards government.

… and I don’t think Iran should be banned now, it is too late, but they should not have been allowed to start the qualifying process… along with a host of other human rights abusing countries.

Posted from  United States

Lyle, I agree with you on one thing: Lack of consistency.

If it is based on human rights, I argue that China does not have a shining record. Remember the Tineman Square?

The least we can ask for is consistency. Make the rules and apply them to everyone equally.

Furthermore, banning from sports events has never done any good, unless it is done in combination with economic and political measures.

Posted from  United States

I do not understand why this point is so hard to get across: Banning the team will not in any shape help change “Iran’s backwards government”. In fact, the Islamic Republic will be happy if the team is banned. They have always wished for Iran’s team failure. The reason is that they are affraid that any Team Melli victory would put Iranians’ nationalist emotions in motion. In the past, Team Melli’s victory celebrations has turned into anti government riots.

This aside, we should differenciate between opperssing governmnets and the people living under them. Wheather this be Iran, China, or North Korea! Athletes, are representing the people rather than governments. Most are not political to say the list and might, in fact, be against their government. We need to remember in these type of regims people have not chosen the government and do not have much to say about the afairs of the government. Then why punish the athletes and the people they represent?!!!

Posted from  United States

I totally disagree with that fashionable opinion. WE DID IN FACT AFFECT CHANGE IN SOUTH AFRICA (you know, ending apartheid) BY BANNING THEM FROM INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIONS.

Don’t you think the Iranian people will do something about their backwards government if the world doesn’t allow their pride and joy play in the WC or Olympics because of their government? I think it would motivate some people to get rid of the kooks who rule them.

So if it was good for South Africa, it shouldn’t definitely be good for Iran, North Korea and such. For crying out loud they don’t let women watch their football games. FIFA should take a stance on that.

Posted from  United States

Lyle, I am going to say my last piece on this and then respectfully bow out of the conversation. As Mr. Miyagi once said, “Daniel-san, must talk. Man walk on road. Walk left side, safe. Walk right side, safe. Walk down middle, sooner or later, get squished”

The issues concerning Iran and world politics in general, are very complicated and the last thing I want is to “walk in the middle”

So, as I said we, the free world, can NOT pick and choose which human rights violating regimes we want to abolish based on our own interests. There violators of human rights that our government (US) calls “allies”. If we are to make sanctions on sports events a standard approach for fighting human rights abuses, then we should implement it to all cases equally.

Now regarding South Africa, the abolition of Apartheid was indeed a victory for human race. However, it was accomplished by a combination of political and economical pressure, one single man who was willing to risk it all, and a people who had nothing to lose but everything to gain. Being banned from Olympics and other sports events were mostly symbolic and would have not accomplished anything on their own.

Until the governments who claim to be guardians of human rights do not approach the issue without hypocrisy, dictatorships will continue to exist and even continue to thrive.

With that said, I salute you for your good intentions and sign off

Posted from  United States

I didn’t mean to suggest that banning Iran or any other pariah state from the World Cup will alone change those countries’ oppressive policies. It won’t, but it is perhaps the most symbolic position the world can take against such countries.

It did do something with regards to South African apartheid, and so I don’t understand why it is not done to countries like Iran or North Korea.

And as far as countries being hypocrites when comes to pointing fingers… that means nothing. Some other country’s hypocrisy doesn’t make Iran put dissidents in jail or ban women from football matches. Iran does that all on its own.

At the very least FIFA should take strong stand on Iran banning women from football matches.

Look I want to see Iran play on the international stage like everybody else (they’re good), but I don’t want to feel morally retarded while watching them either knowing that Iranian women can’t watch them in person (not to mention all the other nonesense that goes on there).

Posted from  United States

afshin,

and i appreciate that you recognize i mean well. banning women from soccer games and throwing political opponents in jail infuriates me though… and unfortunately this stuff can and maybe should affect sporting events and such.

Posted from  United States

Lyle,

To get an understanding for my position on the issue of women please go to my own website, follow the links on this post, and perhaps read a few of the comments.

Cheers,

http://www.lastkick.com/?p=914

Posted from  United States

“Don’t you think the Iranian people will do something about their backwards government if the world doesn’t allow their pride and joy play in the WC or Olympics because of their government?”

Living in a democratic society like US, we are so accustomed to the freedoms we enjoy that it’s hard to comperhend what people in otherwise repressive societies face. From personal experience, I can tell you that many Iraninans who did something to defend their most basic freedoms, would it be choice of the clothes they wear, music they listen to, or news they read, have ended up in jail or executed for it. Now, do you think they lack motivation to stand against their governmnet. They don’t! They already got millions of reason to resist their governmnet. But, it’s just not as easy as you and me think! They would be risking their lives (and many do everyday). People love their pride and joy! But they like to live first.

Posted from  United States

kia,

i never said standing up to an authoritarian regime is easy. i don’t presume it is. but if the iranians want a better life, and they don’t want to go to jail for political thoughts, and if they want to see game if they have breasts, they are going to have to do something about their government even if it means they get hurt, thrown in jail, or killed.

i don’t take jack for granted, but i’m not the one who lives in a country where religous freaks tell people what they can and cannot do.

as an outsider all i can do is take a stand against the mullahs. one way i can do that is to advocate for banning all iranian sports teams from international competition until the iranian government lets their people go free. and that’s a hell of a lot less dangerous than advocating war or economic sanctions, because the only that is hurt is country’s pride.

Posted from  United States

Aren’t we quietly mixing issues here? According to the article (and, in fact, the whole reason this discussion has surfaced in the past couple of months), the reason these EU lawmakers and other proponents want to ban Iran from the World Cup is not because of its human rights violations, but because of “statements from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calling for the destruction of Israel and denying the Holocaust, as well as Iran’s refusal to renounce its nuclear activity.” These are both political issues and have nothing to do with Iran’s human rights record which, as it has already been stated, is no worse than many of the other countries that are either currently going to the World Cup or were eligible to play in the World Cup qualifying rounds. No one is talking about the human rights violations of Saudi Arabia or Brazil. Clearly then, the issue is not Iran’s human rights record, which I agree is abysmal, but Ahmadinejad’s statements and Iran’s nuclear program. To suggest that the actions taken against South Africa set a precedent for taking action against Iran is disingenious (to say the least). Why don’t we ban Italy from the World Cup because its prime minister stated that Western civilization is superior to Islamic civilization, or ban the countries that actually have nuclear weapons? I guess it is still true that history is written by the winners.

Even assuming that we are talking about banning Iran from the World Cup because of its human rights violations, using S. Africa as a precedent to do so is flawed on so many different levels. But that discussion is for another time and another site.

Man, I can’t wait for the World Cup!

Posted from  United States

So Gender Segregation and throwing people in prison for their speech is less worse or important than apartheid?

It doesn’t matter why certain EU politicians don’t want Iran going to Germany, I’m talking about why Iran should have been banned from the outset along with a number of other countries.

And I haven’t mentioned Saudi Arabia, because we aren’t talking about Saudi Arabia, but of course they deserve to be banned as well.

Brazil’s transgressions don’t rise to the level of punishment. Comparing Brazil to Iran or Saudi Arabia is ludicrous.

Posted from  United States

Anyway… I’ve said my piece. And I actually hope Iran does well at the WC (like I said it is too late to ban them now and on merit they deserve to be in Germany).

Stick it to Portugal Iran.

Posted from  United States

On the bright side, I’m glad that Iranian women, on merit of their athletes, have been given the chance to cheer their team in Germany. With the restriction placed on them at home, this is a rare opportunity. Let’s hope this is not taken away from them and all Iranians for that matter.

Best wishes for Team Melli!

Posted from  United States

I didn’t realize that you were intentionally broadening the topic the topic from the initial post.

Apartheid in S. Africa and “Gender Segregation and throwing people in prison for their speech” in Iran is incomparable. It’s “ludicrious” that you would think otherwise. The most cursory search on the internet will make this point obvious. People in Iran may be tortured and imprisoned for their political opposition to the government or for other ridiculous reasons, but nothing happens to them because of the color of their skin, and 90% of them are not destined from birth to be oppressed by the laws of the nation. Women in Iran may have it bad, but they don’t have it as bad as did the black Africans in S. Africa — they have not been “resettled” on “homelands” and given fallow land to live on; they have not been systematically denied the most basic amenities like plumbing and electricity; there are not laws forbidding them from getting the same education as everyone else in the country; etc. etc. etc. I don’t know what you think is going on in Iran, but it’s not that bad, that’s for sure.

If you’re comparing S. Africa to Iran, then I’m definitely entitled to compare Brazil to Saudi Arabia. Who are you to decide what transgressions rise to the level of punishment and which ones don’t? In fact, who should decide — the West, the East? The results are obviously subjective and will differ depending on the deciding party. Maybe that’s why they say sports shouldn’t mix with politics.

Posted from  United States

Hey guys, I would like to ask everyone to try to focus on football. Politics is a very interesting topic and I for one am a big fan of talking about it. But, lets not over do it on this forum if we can. We obviousely are not going to resolve any problems here, so let’s stay on the sweet topic of kicking the round thing into the net! Cheers

Posted from  United States

The U.S.A. should be banned for thinking they are so right and humane. It is a figment of their imagination that they know it all. Let the U.S.A. be banned and have Canada or Honduras in their place. The Cup should runneth over in sports not politics. And one more thing. Viva Brasil.

Posted from  Canada