Two stories have alarmed me this week, both including different sports which have been crippled by the power of politics and religion.
F1 chiefs agree to cancel Bahrain GP
The Bahrain Grand Prix was about to be the opening race of the 2011 season, but was postponed weeks before the race, due to the unrest at the Arab country as the public there no longer feel Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa should be king. His reign began 12 years ago but with the riots appearing deadly and out-of-hand, the Formula 1 management team, including Bernie Ecclestone their CEO have cancelled the event for this year.
FIA was convinced that, according to a report, Bahrain's situation has "stabalised" and the race should go ahead whilst the racing car teams condemned this decision. At the same time, perhaps coincidently, Damon Hill will leave his post as President of British Racing Drivers' Club from August. The online campaign group Avaaz, along with 450,000 people worldwide successfully pleaded the Formula 1 committee not to stage this Grand Prix this year.
It can be said that Formula 1 at the moment, is in a mess. With the "crashgate" allegations in Singapore 2008, and other controversies, the sport hasn't quite recovered. However, they still provide spectators with races, offering exceptional driving and everyone is asking themselves who could possibly beat Sebastian Vettel? But too much focus this season has been on the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The country itself is not safe, we can all agree on that but judging the fact that the race wouldn't have been until another four-and-a-half months, the decision whether the GP should go ahead was too early. They were right to postpone it in the first place, for the safety of the drivers and supporters but cancelling it altogether this week could possibly create more uproar in Bahrain.
Sport brings people together. Formula 1 is definitely a sport which has risen in popularity over the past few decades. Although, some believe the decision to host the event would have been a "kick in the teeth to the people of Bahrain", I feel that Formula 1 committee should have talked to the public first to see if they were up for it. If the race went ahead, it could take the attention off their intentions to riot in the capital city, Manama.
Yes, hundreds of thousands around the world have condemned the fact that the race is going ahead but I wished the decision was delayed until the situation reached its peak of unrest, if it hasn't already. The Middle Easterns have had their say with other leader's future starting with Tunisia, Egypt at the start of the year followed by Yemen. Could Bahrain have their say, finally? I certainly hope so for the public's sake. It's never good to wake up in the morning knowing someone innocent has lost their life due to politics.
Iranian Women football team left in tears after Olympic expulsion
This is the news that Iran's women national football team were forced to be expelled from the London 2012 Olympic games due to the side wearing head-scarves during a qualifying match against Vietnam. The match had not even started before they were told they were not to play because of their garments. Therefore the match ended 3-0 to Bahrain without a ball being kicked and the Iranian players's went emotional.
It was truly a sorry sight. These women had a fantastic opportunity to shine at possibly the biggest stage taken away from them just because they were following Islamic rules.
Did they break Fifa rules? By the looks of it there is no sign of a rule to ban head-scarves. On page 18 of their "laws of the game" section, updated for the 2010/11 season says:
I completely understand Iran football team's predigament. It is an absolute disgrace when a team is treated like that by a governing body who are already under increasing scrutiny. The garments were not going to harm anyone, and the side didn't broken the law.
The Iranian government have to take some blame for his though. They insist upon women wearing head garments as it's part of the Islamic religion. I've not looked too much into it but a female wearing a head-scarf seems to be compulsary so it can be argued that the footballer's were forced to wear it - this shows lack of freedom and lack of choice and I think this incident which occured on a Sunday should send a message to the Ahmadinejad and his government.
Iran Football Federation have since written a letter of complain to Fifa but the chance of being reinstated is slight. It's a huge shame and the world governing body have to explain themselves.
These two news stories question the role of politics and religion in sport. To me, and to others football, or Formula 1 is considered as a religion in their own right. Sport is getting far too commercialised and it's a pity that these sports have been heavily influenced by two subjects which in my opinion, are interfering too much with sport. The unfortunate thing is that they are going to influence sport even more in the future, making sport, less like sport and more focus will go on the build up of matches or races rather than the actual event itself which takes the fun out of sport.
F1 chiefs agree to cancel Bahrain GP
The Bahrain Grand Prix was about to be the opening race of the 2011 season, but was postponed weeks before the race, due to the unrest at the Arab country as the public there no longer feel Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa should be king. His reign began 12 years ago but with the riots appearing deadly and out-of-hand, the Formula 1 management team, including Bernie Ecclestone their CEO have cancelled the event for this year.
FIA was convinced that, according to a report, Bahrain's situation has "stabalised" and the race should go ahead whilst the racing car teams condemned this decision. At the same time, perhaps coincidently, Damon Hill will leave his post as President of British Racing Drivers' Club from August. The online campaign group Avaaz, along with 450,000 people worldwide successfully pleaded the Formula 1 committee not to stage this Grand Prix this year.
It can be said that Formula 1 at the moment, is in a mess. With the "crashgate" allegations in Singapore 2008, and other controversies, the sport hasn't quite recovered. However, they still provide spectators with races, offering exceptional driving and everyone is asking themselves who could possibly beat Sebastian Vettel? But too much focus this season has been on the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The country itself is not safe, we can all agree on that but judging the fact that the race wouldn't have been until another four-and-a-half months, the decision whether the GP should go ahead was too early. They were right to postpone it in the first place, for the safety of the drivers and supporters but cancelling it altogether this week could possibly create more uproar in Bahrain.
Sport brings people together. Formula 1 is definitely a sport which has risen in popularity over the past few decades. Although, some believe the decision to host the event would have been a "kick in the teeth to the people of Bahrain", I feel that Formula 1 committee should have talked to the public first to see if they were up for it. If the race went ahead, it could take the attention off their intentions to riot in the capital city, Manama.
Yes, hundreds of thousands around the world have condemned the fact that the race is going ahead but I wished the decision was delayed until the situation reached its peak of unrest, if it hasn't already. The Middle Easterns have had their say with other leader's future starting with Tunisia, Egypt at the start of the year followed by Yemen. Could Bahrain have their say, finally? I certainly hope so for the public's sake. It's never good to wake up in the morning knowing someone innocent has lost their life due to politics.
Iranian Women football team left in tears after Olympic expulsion
This is the news that Iran's women national football team were forced to be expelled from the London 2012 Olympic games due to the side wearing head-scarves during a qualifying match against Vietnam. The match had not even started before they were told they were not to play because of their garments. Therefore the match ended 3-0 to Bahrain without a ball being kicked and the Iranian players's went emotional.
It was truly a sorry sight. These women had a fantastic opportunity to shine at possibly the biggest stage taken away from them just because they were following Islamic rules.
Did they break Fifa rules? By the looks of it there is no sign of a rule to ban head-scarves. On page 18 of their "laws of the game" section, updated for the 2010/11 season says:
As far as I am aware, head-scarves are not dangerous garments and no other rule on that 150-odd page book suggests anything to do with them being exempt. I also looked at football London 2012 Olympics rulebook regarding the competition and again, no rule regarding wearing such garments. There was no mention either on the religious aspect of the game.
"A player must not use equipment or wear anything that is dangerous to himself [or herself] or another player (including any kind of jewellery)."
I completely understand Iran football team's predigament. It is an absolute disgrace when a team is treated like that by a governing body who are already under increasing scrutiny. The garments were not going to harm anyone, and the side didn't broken the law.
The Iranian government have to take some blame for his though. They insist upon women wearing head garments as it's part of the Islamic religion. I've not looked too much into it but a female wearing a head-scarf seems to be compulsary so it can be argued that the footballer's were forced to wear it - this shows lack of freedom and lack of choice and I think this incident which occured on a Sunday should send a message to the Ahmadinejad and his government.
Iran Football Federation have since written a letter of complain to Fifa but the chance of being reinstated is slight. It's a huge shame and the world governing body have to explain themselves.
These two news stories question the role of politics and religion in sport. To me, and to others football, or Formula 1 is considered as a religion in their own right. Sport is getting far too commercialised and it's a pity that these sports have been heavily influenced by two subjects which in my opinion, are interfering too much with sport. The unfortunate thing is that they are going to influence sport even more in the future, making sport, less like sport and more focus will go on the build up of matches or races rather than the actual event itself which takes the fun out of sport.
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