“The first casualty of war is the truth,” I was once lectured to as a student. And as the war between aggressor Russia and belligerent Ukraine rages on, both countries have become so economical with the truth, it’s not funny. We are left to read between the lines.
While the Ukrainian government, or what’s left of it, reports daily on the casualties it is suffering, truthfully or otherwise, we are hearing zilch from Russia on how the war is impacting on their lives.
You may ask, what does the war in Eastern Europe have to do with this soccer column? Plenty, for the simple reason that sportsmen and women, in this case the football world, is suffering from the bans imposed on Russian athletes by sports associations, confederations and federations.
Just like when elephants fight, sportspeople are like the grass that suffers from being trampled on, in this case through sanctions and bans.
One of the most-talked about casualties is Chelsea Football Club. The future of the English outfit in the Premier League hangs in the balance, a dark cloud of uncertainty hovers over The Blues.
Chelsea’s Russian owner and boss Roman Abramovich, dubbed “the gangster”, wanted to sell the club worth about $3.2-billion (R48.25-billion) even before the war escalated to this level.
Ibramovich, an ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin, was stopped in his tracks by the English government and had his assets frozen. In the aftermath Chelsea’s shirt sponsor, cellphone giant Three, suspended its multimillion- pound sponsorship deal with the club.
It all started at the Winter Paralympics in Beijing, China, when teams threatened not to take part if the Russian and Belarussian athletes were allowed to compete. The International Olympic Committee urged sports bodies to exclude Russian and Belarussian athletes and officials from international events.
The ripple effects were unprecedented as Fifa and UEFA entered the fray. All Russian national and club teams are now suspended from all competitions until further notice. Spartak Moscow’s match against RB Leipzig in the Europa League was called off, with the German club advancing to the quarter-finals.
Fifa claims to be apolitical, and frowns on governments interference in sport (read football).
Kenya and Zimbabwe were suspended by Fifa, owing to their governments’ meddling in football matters that resulted in the dissolution of their associations, which were replaced by government-appointed officials.
As the World Cup falls directly under Fifa’s jurisdiction, Russia’s play-off qualifying match against Poland has been suspended, a scenario that could end Russia’s ambitions to compete at the world football spectacle in Qatar.
But is Fair Play, which is Fifa’s pillar, not being thrown out of the window?
A number of other sporting codes have been imposing bans and sanctioning Russians athletes, but come to think of it, these sportspeople have bugger all to do with Putin’s war. From Formula 1 to tennis and track and field, Russian sportsmen and women have become the pariahs of the world due to the decisions of their political masters, something they don’t have control over.
It’s double standards from Fifa, I say.
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