It was not until mass protest actions and detentions of anti-corruption protesters in Moscow that German politicians began seriously to negotiate the possibility of boycotting the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which is scheduled in Russia, the country which had annexed Crimea and sponsors separatism in Donbas, the country that extensively finances international terrorism (which Ukraine is now trying to prove in The Hague).
Since the Federation Internationale de Football Associacion (FIFA) decided, in December 2008, to hold the world championship in the Russian Federation, the situation of civil society in that country has seriously deteriorated, said the German government’s point man on Russia Gernot Erler on Tuesday, March 28. At the same time he noted that the revision of the decision to award the world championship to Russia falls “exclusively under the competence of FIFA.” Michael Fuchs, vice chairman of the CDU/CSU faction in the Bundestag, said that a country disrespecting elementary civil rights must not in principle hold any world championships. In his opinion, the unfavorable situation with human rights and security will result in many soccer fans withholding from traveling to Russia for the World Cup 2018. Fuchs is convinced that a boycott of an international sport event must be a “rare, exclusive case,” as Russia has been gliding in the dangerous direction for years on end, violating international law and human rights which is “absolutely unacceptable,” said Fuchs as quoted by dw.com.
In general, the proportion of those who vehemently oppose the World Cup in Russia or intend to boycott it, has considerably grown as the Mundial draws nearer. Early this month Transparency International, an anti-corruption watchdog, held a survey to find out how much soccer fans trust FIFA and how they think about holding the World Cup 2018 in Russia: 43 percent of the respondents globally opposed the idea of Russia hosting the championship, while 39 percent supported it and 18 percent did not have an opinion. The discontented ones are led by Ireland (71 percent), the Netherlands (69 percent), the UK and Sweden (68 percent each). In the US, 47 percent of fans would not back Russia.
And while most fans worldwide are still considering if it is worthwhile traveling to Russia, given that the host country often ignores the elementary security and comfort norms (stadium security and service infrastructure, in particular hotels, restaurants, stores, airports, leisure facilities must all conform to the top standards), Ukrainian fans simply fear for their lives. A handful of Ukrainians holding national flags and singing the national anthem outside a stadium could be seen by the Russian Federation authorities as participants of an unsanctioned rally. Besides, our soccer ultras, who were among the first on Maidan and now are fighting in the east of the country and who made a song deriding Putin, will undoubtedly be harassed and persecuted not only by the police and security services, but also by Russia’s neo-Nazi movements. But there is another key moment about letting Russia hold the soccer world championship. The very fact that the international community (which has incidentally prolonged economic sanctions against that aggressor state) is willing to close its eyes to the “good neighborhood policy” of the host country, will only increase the sense of permissiveness.
Apart from the disheartening fact that, despite Russia’s annexation of Crimea, backing of terrorists in Donbas, and war in Syria, Europe’s politicians are more worried by the dispersing of an unsanctioned rally in Moscow, it is the result that matters. The world must not lose its wind before the finishing line. It must play the game through to the very end, that is, boycott the World Cup in Russia.
