Politics In Sport? Is There a Place?

[Dakink]

Like Zimbabwe in cricket, Iran has polarised the Football world.

EU plea to ban Iran
From Darren Ennis in Brussels
May 11, 2006

EUROPEAN Union politicans have called on FIFA to ban Iran from the World Cup.

Members of the European Parliament will today send a letter to FIFA chief Sepp Blatter, and EU leaders, citing statements from Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, calling for the destruction of Israel and denying the Holocaust, as well as his refusal to renounce its nuclear activity.

It is not clear how many MEPs will sign and FIFA has said it has no intention of banning Iran, which kicks off its campaign against Mexico on June 11 in Nuremberg, a city associated with Nazism.

"We have cross-party support for this and we will now go back to our governments and opposition parties and send them a letter, asking them to back our call," said British Conservative Party MEP Chris Heaton-Harris.

"We believe a precedent has been set in the past, in particular in cricket and rugby with South Africa and FIFA needs to do the same."

Ahmadinejad has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map" and has referred to the Holocaust as a myth. Denying the murder of six million Jews by the Nazis is a crime in Germany punishable by up to five years in prison.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said the remarks were unacceptable and likened Iran's nuclear plans to the threat posed by the Nazis. However, she said she would not seek to ban Iran from the finals, which kick off on June 9.

Iran faces possible United Nations sanctions unless it halts its nuclear activities, which the EU and the United States believe are a cover for developing nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is a civilian one to generate electricity.

Heaton-Harris, a former referee, said the letter to Blatter urges that Bahrain, which finished runners-up to Iran in qualification, be given the berth.

"This would also send the message that we are not against Muslims, but just against Iran and its policies," said the British politician.

Agence France-Presse

[Social Loafer]

If you bring politics into sport it opens up a whole can of worms, those players arn't the ones inciting anything, please keep the 2 thigns seperate. Banning them from the world cup will just cause more conflict..