The recent tragic events at a Egyptian soccer match, where more than 70 people died, highlights why it’s time for FIFA to take a stand against violence, whether it’s on or off the pitch.
And to do that, the soloution must be simple.
Expel Egypt from FIFA at the earliest possible moment.
FIFA, through its president Sepp Blatter, must send a loud and clear message to the authorities running Egyptian football, that violence will not be tolerated.
And even though it might hurt FIFA to do it, because it could upset those in the Middle East where FIFA controversially awarded the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, it could be beneficial in the long-term.
But the question is: would FIFA have the guts to go through with the decision to expel Egypt? And would they have the backing of not just UEFA and its South American counterparts, but also the Asian Football authorities – which includes Australia?
Or, as I mentioned above, seeing how much damage FIFA could do to its PR in the Middle East if they expel Egypt, would they back off and do nothing – thereby adding more weight to the argument that Blatter is a do-nothing president and more concerned about getting lucrative TV rights for the 2022 World Cup?
If FIFA wants to show the sports watchers around the world it’s still a force to be reckoned with, it should do the right thing and expel Egypt from FIFA – in the words of its slogan – ‘for the good of the game’.
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February 3rd 2012 @ 10:55am
Fussball ist unser leben said | February 3rd 2012 @ 10:55am | Report comment
What a load of rubbish, Jason Cave. Obviously, FIFA need to ask questions about whether there is a football-side to this story but, thus far, the word from Egyptians, who were present at time suggests this incident had nothing to do with football – except that it occurred at a football stadium.
Just like the Tiananmen Square massacre, where hundreds were killed and thousands were wounded in 1989 had nothing to had nothing to do with Tiananmen Square itself.
Hopefully, people, who make decisions at FIFA will analyse this horrific situation with a bit more depth than you have.
February 3rd 2012 @ 2:54pm
Hutcho said | February 3rd 2012 @ 2:54pm | Report comment
+1
February 3rd 2012 @ 4:45pm
WoobliesFan said | February 3rd 2012 @ 4:45pm | Report comment
+2
Jason Cave, who was the bright-spark who bestowed upon you the title Roar Pro?
Had you even done 5 seconds of research into these riots, you’d quickly realise these were politically-inspired and just happened to eventuate during a soccer match.
Btw, only person who should be expelled from FIFA is Sepp Butthead himself.
February 3rd 2012 @ 11:01am
Brett McKay said | February 3rd 2012 @ 11:01am | Report comment
FIFA wouldn’t have many members left after a while if they followed this course of action…
Jason, you’ve made a fairly dangerous assumption that the violence in Egypt is football related. I don’t know that this episode can be rationalised away so simplistically.
February 3rd 2012 @ 11:51am
TomC said | February 3rd 2012 @ 11:51am | Report comment
I see absolutely no way that this would help either FIFA or football in Egypt. If there was some evidence that the Egyptian FA was being negligently lax on the issue of security over a period of time, well then maybe you could threaten suspension as a deterrent. But to expel a country on the basis of one incident? That’s just insane. And to suggest that the only question is whether FIFA has the ‘guts’ to deal with the ‘PR’ is disingenuous nonsense.
February 3rd 2012 @ 12:43pm
Chris said | February 3rd 2012 @ 12:43pm | Report comment
TomC – that ‘one incident’ cost the lives of over 70 people, so don’t try to downplay it.
But it does seem clear that the football game was simply a vehicle for violence that was going to happen in some form or another. Which is actually even more a reason to suspend Egypt. Can Egypt guarrantee the safety of its players at this time? I suspect not…
February 3rd 2012 @ 12:51pm
Fussball ist unser leben said | February 3rd 2012 @ 12:51pm | Report comment
“Can Egypt guarrantee the safety of its players at this time”? What an odd question. How would FIFA’s suspending Egypt suddenly promote player safety?
From what I’m reading and seeing I don’t think Egypt’s leaders can guarantee the safety of anyone, who is in that country.
FIFA is the most powerful sporting organisation on the planet but, you’re kidding yourself if you think FIFA can somehow rescue the situation in Egypt.
February 3rd 2012 @ 3:36pm
Nathan of Perth said | February 3rd 2012 @ 3:36pm | Report comment
I noticed there are reports that three of Al-Ahli’s players, each international capped, and their Portuguese coach, have resigned or asked to be released by their club. In addition, the club president of al-Masri, and other senior officials, have resigned.
You are right that there is nothing FIFA can do about this. This is power politics spilling over into sport, not something of a sport’s own design. Egypt will have its reckoning and it looks like the perfidious security forces are in its sights already.
February 3rd 2012 @ 1:17pm
TomC said | February 3rd 2012 @ 1:17pm | Report comment
I’m not downplaying it at all! That’s a bloody ridiculous thing to say Chris!
February 3rd 2012 @ 12:50pm
SAMURAI said | February 3rd 2012 @ 12:50pm | Report comment
To be honest, I don’t think ANYONE knows the whole truth behind this tragedy unless they’re actually a current resident of Egypt or are a member of one of the political factions in the country.
Although I have been following the turmoil in Egypt through the media, I admit I don’t know everything going in that country nor do I claim to know the motivations behind the violence in Port Said.
IMHO football was not the primary reason behind the violence. But I could be very wrong.
February 3rd 2012 @ 3:16pm
The Bear said | February 3rd 2012 @ 3:16pm | Report comment
What a curious post.
“To be honest, I don’t think ANYONE knows the whole truth behind this tragedy unless they’re actually a current resident of Egypt or are a member of one of the political factions in the country.”
How about we leave your post here, after your opening sentence, then.
February 3rd 2012 @ 1:20pm
Axelv said | February 3rd 2012 @ 1:20pm | Report comment
For a country that is facing many problems and seems to be run by the military since it’s government was removed, I don’t think that banning Egypt from football is going to make them any happier.