Four Iranian soccer players were banned from playing for the national team after wearing green armbands during a recent world cup qualifying match against South Korea. The players wore the green armband to show their support for those who are protesting the election results in Iran. The players ranged in age from 24 to 32. I hope the worst thing that happens to these guys is their banishment from the national team. Unfortunately, I think they will be looking over their shoulders when they return to Iran. They should be commended for their peaceful protest in which they didn't distract from the game. They simply wore their armbands.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
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5 comments:
That was a stupid thing to do. Already, the Iranian national team is on the wane and they are going to kick out players over politics? That affects the national team more than it affects the individual players. The players that play in the Bundesliga will now stay in Germany and play for their proffessional teams there and never play for the Iranian national team again.
I tend to agree. Still, it is short sited by the government. But with a government that tightly controls so much, they can't let even minor signs of difference go.
Politics and sports should not mix. The regime in Iran has demonstrated that is it neither for, by or of the people.
Any shred of legitimacy retained by the Iranians has been completely lost.
I suspect that they'll defect and/or never go back to Iran. They had to know this was coming the moment they put on the armband. It's the national team's loss from what I see.
They are probably concerned about the welfare and safety of their families left behind in Iran.
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