“Hope for signal effect to the Federal Council”

At the European Football Championship in 1992, it was said that anyone who waged war should not play football. The former Yugoslavia was excluded from the tournament. The Bernese FDP National Councilor Christian Wasserfallen (41) draws attention to this. “But it is not up to politicians to decide how a war or open civil war can be compared to the situation in Iran, it is up to FIFA, as the organizer of the World Cup in Qatar, to decide here,” he says.

Wasserfallen plays the ball to the World Football Association. Former President Joseph Blatter (86) has demanded that the latest developments in Iran be countered by excluding the Iranian football team. Finally, because of the war of aggression against Ukraine, Russia should not be involved either.

Even school children arrested

Since the death of 22-year-old Iranian Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the moral and religious police for wearing ‘un-Islamic’ clothing, the population has taken to the streets against the mullahs’ regime. It reacts with violence, repeatedly claiming fatalities. Organizers of an Iran demonstration last Saturday in Bern even reported that even schoolchildren were arrested, raped and brutally murdered.

Like Christian Wasserfallen, Green National Councilor Natalie Imboden (52) does not find Sepp Blatter’s demand for exclusion simply wrong. However, she says: “It is important that the Federal Council in Switzerland acts towards Iran!” But you understand the request. “If sport reacts faster than politics for once, it will hopefully have a signal effect on the Federal Council.” She only hopes “that the unjust regime of the mullahs will soon be stopped and that the fight against its own people, especially against women, will end.”

Where is the neutrality?

Fifa expert Roland Rino Büchel (57) thinks otherwise. The SVP National Council says: “During his time as FIFA president, Sepp Blatter always took the stance: there is a lot of injustice in the world, but sport is not the place where we can eliminate all of this.” If athletes would meet on the field and compete in what will hopefully be fair competition, “that could move things in the right direction.”

And Büchel complains: “Now Sepp Blatter is even involved in the committee of the neutrality initiative and at the same time raises this exclusion requirement. He is clearly taking sides, it doesn’t really go together.”

The absence of Blatter and Infantino would suffice

And Center President Gerhard Pfister (60) even scoffs on Twitter: “This proven FIFA expert on good governance is wrong”. Excluding players from tournaments doesn’t make sense, “because they did something to get in.” The absence of officials like Blatter and his successor Gianni Infantino (52) would also suffice. (pt)