Closed at home due to the pandemic, last year we wondered if Euro 2020 would ever take place and, if so, what European it would be. A year later, apparently we play and, 20 days from the final, we already have a winner: politics. They are the Europeans of Black Lives Matter with related controversies; of the “I would like but I cannot” take a position in favor of the Uefa LGBT community and of the Italian premier Mario Draghi who, when diplomacy is at stake, speaks off the cuff. And, as in the Erdogan case, he lets it slip that perhaps it is not the case to play the final at Wembley, in the home of the Delta variant.
Tra Black Lives Matter e Lgbt
There has been plenty of talk about Black Lives Matter, Take a knee, anti-racist genuflections of the British teams and a sense of disorientation of Italy which, for now, kneels halfway, Saturday night against Austria who knows. Meanwhile, UEFA formally opposes the Munich city council’s request to light up its stadium with the colors of the rainbow for Germany’s last group stage match against Hungary. It was intended to be a protest against a measure passed by Hungarian lawmakers last week that prohibits the sharing with minors of any content that portrays homosexuality or sex reassignment.
Loading…
Draghi’s sense for Wembley
The continental football federation says it believes “that discrimination can only be fought in close cooperation with others”, even if the others are called Viktor Orbán, and has proposed that the city of Munich light up the stadium with the colors of the rainbow June 28 for Christopher Street Day or July 3-9 for Christopher Street Week. And never mind if there are no Hungarians around Bavaria. A diplomatic case then become the words of Draghi against, to play the final of Euro 2020 in “Countries with high infections”, read England. And never mind if, without having to wait for the final, the Azzurri will be busy in London as early as next Saturday. And they will play it for three of the remaining four games, in case – as we hope – they go all the way.
Sport is politics (always)
We know what many of you are thinking: sport is one thing, politics another, confusing the two fields is not good for anyone. On the contrary: it is downright dangerous. But no: sport is politics. Always. We can bother with the Olympics in Berlin ’36 which were supposed to serve to glorify the superman of the Reich but the only superman who was seen in those parts was the African American Jesse Owens. We can bother Muhammad Ali’s draft evasion, Carlos and Smith’s punches in the sky in Mexico City, even Maradona who, on the eve of Italy-Argentina, the Italia ’90 semi-final scheduled in Naples, said: of the Neapolitans once a year ». Examples abound. Forget speeches like: it was better once, when sportsmen thought about competing and didn’t talk about politics. Because at the time of Rome there was even a sportsman (Spartacus) who declared war on Rome. Politics has always used sport and sportspeople have often made politics through their own businesses. It remains to be seen why this very special Euro 2020 is becoming the most political sporting event ever. Perhaps even in this case, after a year of forced abstinence, it is time to recover.