Should We Keep Politics Out Of Football?
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- Опубликовано: 24 май 2021
- From Marcus Rashford's campaigning on free school meals to the support for Black Lives Matter and of taking the knee, footballers have become a lot more outspoken on a number of issues over the last 12 months.
Unsurprisingly, this has prompted support in some quarters and backlash in others, typically depending upon whether a person or organisation agrees with the sentiment being expressed at any one time.
So, in this opinion piece, HITC Sevens ponders the 'keep politics out of football' and 'stick to football' debates, and takes a look at the history of politics and activism particularly within the English game. 
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Nike are so woke that their factory workers are allowed a day off on their 10th birthday.
exactly. nike use political issues as a way to market their products and get more sales. they don't give a fuck about morality. nike recently let raheem sterling sign with new balance cos they believed they have a similar player profile in rashford who is actually more 'political' than sterling is, especially with his campaign to feed kids.
Lmfaoooo. Good one!
@@daniel-cc7bn So you mean Nike commits recuperation.
Almost as if capitalism is the problem
@@Intheflesh1 no. capitalism has given us a lot of freedom as well.
remember when pep wore a yellow ribbon for catalonia and fined 20,000$....the FA is quite subjective is all i am saying
Or when Cavani was banned for saying something that sounds race related
@@prometheustv6558 Apple’s and oranges. Cavani’s thing wasn’t a political stance, it was an old tweet that he acknowledged the issue for
@@prometheustv6558 Suarez evra case was same
Celtic got a gigantic fine because their fans waved Palestinian flags. Now dozens of players are doing it and it's fine. Fifa and Uefa apply the "no politics" rule purely on the basis of whether or not they can get away with it.
@@SB-uo9to Yeah but it shows how inconsistent the FA is and it wasn’t a tweet from years ago
The only thing I know about UK politics is that Boris Johnson looks like he hasn't slept in 5 days
"Oh, you say that Boris Johnson hasn't slept In 5 days?"
"Alright, you're gonna be forced to comb your hair with a knife and fork for the rest of your life"
- the fa
(this is a joke on part of the video)
Total Rubbish!!!
Boris Johnson looks like he’s just woken up... Fully clothed... In a hedge.
*Years
That is legitimately part of his manufactured image
Priti Patel looks like she has been sleeping upside down in a cave
Fun fact: in the malaysian league, a player from Myanmar scored and shows the three finger sign showing his protests against the Military takeover in his country. Few days later, his club (Selangor FC) received a "love letter" from the Junta Military warning the club to take actions against him or the club will get whats coming by them. In the end, the Malaysian Football Association gave the player a 3 match ban for his protesting against the violence happening in his home country by the Junta Military.
Oh wow, that's absurd and I'm disgusted... Shows what a dictatorship is like. Hamza Choudhury, Wesley Fofana, Paul Pogba and Amad Diallo received no punishment for displaying the Palestinian flag and Mohamed Salah has been going around for years as an anti-semitic dick and nothing was ever done to him, but when Tomer Hemed, an Israeli (national team player no less), draped his country's flag over him in the wake of a war that his country didn't start he got told to never do it again, Hemed is the guy in the picture with all the Israeli flags btw, the picture was just put on screen with no explanation or mention. I personally believe that no one from outside of the middle east can really comment on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict because they don't understand it, only people living in the area can, and I have lived in Israel all my life. Israel doesn't want to kill innocent Palestinians in Gaza but they unfortunately are in the way when there's a war, no one wants Hamas, not us in Israel and not Gaza's citizens, Hamas took over the area and btw every time the citizens try to oust them they get killed.
Politics are and always have been linked to football and some players and teams have used this platform correctly like Marcus Rashford & Chelsea for example. Players should be able to voice their opinions even if they are controversial, actually they should do so because they're public figures but if their views are extreme and hateful like Mohamed Salah's then it's a problem, but this player from Myanmar did nothing wrong if he anything he did the right thing but the fact a military can threaten his club is horrifying.
EDIT: Sorry for ranting but I felt that I needed to say something about all this because Alfie didn't.
@@EddieLowenheim what did salah say that was so hateful?
@@unlockedaccount He always tries to turn people against Israel whenever he can, he even tries to implement his beliefs onto his Liverpool teammates. Back when he played for Basel they drew Maccabi Tel Aviv from Israel and Salah didn't want to go over to Israel to play Maccabi but he was forced to by Basel, he started the game and didn't shake hands with any of Maccabi's players.
@@EddieLowenheim opposing Israel doesn’t make you anti-semetic. There are literal Jewish people and holocaust survivors and/or descendants of survivors who have spoken out against Israel. Watch ‘Norman finkelstein crocodile tears’.
@@nyanmad Jews that have spoken or are speaking out against Israel especially if they live in Israel is a form of self hate.
Organized political stuff - NO
If a player voices his opinion -YES
The players are free people and they can do what they want, but i dont want someone forcing you to wear this or that message, or kneel, or do whatever. Because if you don't complie your getting thrown under the bus
Yes definitely as in my opinion when a political message or movement is being forced upon players it loses its meaning
Correct me if I'm wrong, but none of the political statements from players are forced, are they? Kneeling, wearing a poppy etc. is all optional. It just looks really bad if you don't
I agree, I also feel that if you’re forced to take a knee before kickoff, the anti racism message isn’t as strong. A player or team should most definitely have the right to take a knee before a match but it should be their own decision, not someone else’s. If it’s someone else’s decision, then it just becomes a gesture that you’re forced to do, not a gesture against racism.
@@Larryandbob Yeah but you'll be doomed a racist if you don't, i wouldn't want to take a knee every game even if i agree with the statement, but the press would kill me for it
Agreed. Like it or not political movements regardless of what wing they belong to are filled with bias and propaganda, players voicing their opinions would do good for the sport and the fans
The picture of the Nazi salute gave me a video idea, to talk about the one player who refused to do it, Stan Cullis. Unless you've already covered this
Repost this under every video until he does it!
@@UresusMTG I will make sure to do exactly that. The man from Ellesmere Port needs to be remembered as a hero
Great suggestion
If you guys think the Nazis were the bad guys still you haven't learned your revisionist history
@@chance2413 😐
I think it's the double standard that people have a problem with. Pep was fined for wearing a yellow ribbon indicating support for Catalan independence. Why was that political gesture worthy of a fine, but others are not?
Short answer : Money
@@dhirenjadhav8844 Better answer : power!
Yep, that’s why no one has a problem with the ufc. They let all say their political views, not just some.
exactly, thats why I say keep politics out of sports, because if you allow some, and not others thats discrimination. I can kneel for black people, wear rainbow colors, but I can't speak out against Israel or China mass murdering people, because they have money? That is very hypocritical, you either allow everything (which would probably ruin the game), or you don't allow anything, because everything in the middle is a grey area, and no one should be allowed to decide what can and what can not be allowed.
@@csanadhorvath I mean let’s say I wore a white lives matter shirt and when asked I say black people kill white people at much higher rates than white people kill black people and I say stop killing white people. Would they find that ok?
I do love it when people telling footballers to “stick to football” whilst themselves not “sticking” to only talk about their own line of work. In that example a builder is only allowed to talk about the construction industry and if he discussed a fireman’s job he would have to “stick to construction”. Footballers much like any of line of work can share their views as much as Bob (the builder of course) on Twitter.
Exactly we should take no more notice of a footballers opinions than a average builder
@@carlosjones8712 that your decision. But don't tell them they can't express it.
You know footballers can influence a ton of people more than a builder
I'd like to see someone say “stick to football” to a Lazio or a Red Star Belgrade footballer
An argument I haven't even thought of making. I suspect the greater problem is that the world itself has become more overtly political. Both in the sense that we are more aware of the political opinions of others and that political differences have become sharper.
Let's be honest, it's impossible. When you find out how many clubs were founded by political parties and have far-right or far-left ultras you will understand that politics is stuck under our skin and in our brains.
It's because football is such a strong cultural force, the two will always be connected.
Unfortunately
It's undoubtedly going to be there, but the q is how involved should it be, I mean Fleetwood man can duck off with his b/s lies. But Marcus did what he wanted not fit politics, but a feeling of care/nostalgia/ , but obviously had to get involved with politicians messaging there help. He wasn't preaching any political message. & Just to be clear, in nit saying one is right & one is wrong because of which side they're on in case anyone is dim enough to think that, but because of WHAT they did, switch the allegiances around & in still sticking with what i said
6:23 "Politics in the UK has become so polarized".
Try 'in the world', mate. 😅😜
I disagree.
The basic political assumptions between left and right have narrowed so much in the last few decades that, really, there are no differences remaining between Labour/Tory, Democrat/Republican, Whatever/Whatever. Now, it’s all down to identity. Who’s “woke” and who isn’t.
@@marcusjohns5166 spot on mate. Almost 0 substance out there
@@Kriscur20 well that's exactly the problem though. No policy, all fluff.
@@marcusjohns5166 That only speaks to electoral politics though, there are a great many of us with politics beyond that rather limited range.
@@marcusjohns5166 he dosen’t mean between the parties they have always been irrelevant and just work for a 👃🏼 systwm
I love how these european/american people change their view about this in the past few days. maybe showing palestine flag is worse and more political than banning a whole country from any professional sports competition.
Yes, and even forcing a Russian F1 driver Nikita Mazepin to quit the sport simply because he is Russian.
DG
The answer is to stop caring about the opinions of public figures. Appreciate their skill at their trade and ignore anything else they do.
This is spot on, you don’t go to your barber for advice on how to plumb your house🤣
Bad take
Agreed.
Good Enough. I am kind of close for this.
I don't think you thought this take, all the way through. It falls apart pretty easily
"Keeping politics out of sports" is simply choosing the political stance that the status quo must be upheld at all times.
You are a marxist! We don't need your bias here thanks!
@@eyeballjellyforbreakfast how is he a Marxist. Do you even know what that means
@@dylanb.117 ...
There's some irony in wanting to give your political views whilst wanting social media companies to silence others
There's no issue in private companies silencing people whose sole objective is to make money by spreading information they know is false. Private companies are free to prevent people from using their services.
@@rudysanchez822 could you make the argument that the premier league is a company itself and therefore can silence it's players 🤔
@@Reynolds69er yes
@@rudysanchez822 Twitter and youtube for example shouldn’t be able to ban someone or shadowban someone just because they are conservative it’s a slippery slope. Conservatives will leave the platform and make their own echo chamber and so will left wing people on other platforms only causing more resentment and politcal extremism because people aren’t seeing other sides of the argument
@@mikelitorous5570 conservatives crying about massive corporations being unregulated, fuck me.
You should look into the backlash of Özils post about the genocide in Xinjiang, and especially the way Arsenal handled it!
You gotta lower your ideals of freedom if you want to suck on the warm teat of China.- South Park
Honestly the fact that he got mugged off by everyone at the time for him speaking out about that, and now everyone is looking at China the way he did before hand, is actually amazingly stupid. Goes to show how hypocritical people are and how they handled that situation so poorly.
The Ozil situation and the NBA fining an owner who showed support for freeing Hong Kong shows how deep China's hands are in every sports organization's pockets.
@@dragonmark9092 cringe . It was made.up bs by some us funded group
@@dm9078 they don’t give af they don’t want a huge potential market being closed off from them and lose money
When people saw a football player do something that conformed with their own view, they gonna say "how brave, outspoken, etc". But otherwise they gonna say "keep politics out of football.
Anyway, another great video Alfie!
When *the right*, not "when people". You'll damn near never see the left saying to keep politics out of stuff. You'll see the left calling right wing athletes idiots or scumbags for being right wing, but you won't see them telling them to "keep politics out of x"
@@connortheandroidsentbycybe7740 true. I'm a leftist who calls all rightwingers idiots and scumbags, whenever possible, lest they forget it
@@willywonka7812 great open dialogue mate
@@FazeKazookid I'm just a believer that shame is a lever to prise a dammed wiseass's head like a beaver
@@willywonka7812 up the beavers
Football always has been and always will be political. Without politics, there are no rivalries, no World Cup, no money, etc. Without politics, all we have are 22 people kicking a ball around for no reason at all. Everything is political whether you like it or not.
issue is when people place humanitarian issues as political
@@unlockedaccount humanitarian issues are political
I seriously disagree with your claim that there would be no rivalries in football without politics (unless you stretch the definition of politics beyond recognizability). While I agree that it's difficult to keep politics out of such rivalries, I think that it's quite a shame that this is the case. One of the reasons why I (as an Arsenal fan) love the Merseyside derby, for instance, is that it's an intenseley passionate rivalry but the opposing supporters are tied together by kinship and friendship so much that they rarely forget that this is just a game of football. And I think that's why it would be good to keep politics out of football rivalries specifically (even though I acknowledge that it's practically impossible).
Well said
@@rudysanchez822 so if you disagree on people getting killed it’s political?
So giant campaign donations from wealthy, powerful individuals also happen in the UK politics? That's NOT a good thing!
Politics has always been in football. Real Madrid were Franco’s team, Mussolini was a big Lazio (I accidentally typed Napoli like a dummy) supporter. Celtic have had Palestinian banners since what feels like forever from their fans. And of course Barcelona only has the Catalan Flag in their crest. Like it or not, it’s real, it’s been here and it’s here to stay.
I think athletes speaking out in protest is extremely powerful...whether it was Ali, Carlos and Smith or Serena. It's powerful when an athlete puts a cause above their ego or paycheck.
The problem is most of these athletes don't actually what they're talking about do what you want in your spare time but once you're on that pitch you do what you're paid to do
@@jamiekelly5086sorry I can't understand what you point is. I think it's an ignorant statement but it's kind of jibberish so IDK? They don't know what it's like to be oppressed or downtrodden? White privilege much?
@@DrtyALGreen ow wait did you just assume I was white because of a statement i made. That's hella racist bro.
@@DrtyALGreen and yes am saying there are to sides to every conflict and like I said before am sure most Muslims are with Palestine the same as most Jews are with Israel.
@@DrtyALGreen taking the knee before a game isn't putting anything before your paycheck. It's pointless virtue signaling for a cause that every media outlet in the country already supports.
I have learned through the years that whatever people call "politics" in a negative connotation and the matters they want "to keep out" of X activity or space are usually the ones they don't agree with rather than those they feel identified with.
So it's mostly a matter of intolerance for the opinions of others, either dismissing them as incorrect or inferior to one's own.
Taking a knee is probably the most useless thing in support of campaign against racism. How many racists gonna stop after the footballers took the knee
Yeah and also the cause that it’s supporting
@@prometheustv6558 someone's racism is showing lol
There's a lot of racists getting upset about it, so much so I suspect a lot of them are probably walking away from the Premier league. Less racists in the game is a good thing.
@@MrBlazemaster525 How because I don’t support a corrupt organization like BLM.
@@prometheustv6558 see, that's where you keep being racist lmao
As a political science student i love the content alfie! My suggestion for a video would be:
Barça and its ties with the catalan independence movement
Franco with Real, it’s kinda of a big reason for the rivalry.🤷🏻♂️
I feel like this video already exists
They already did this i think
These people shouting about politics in football clearly haven't heard of the Old Firm Derby.
the UK remains united regardless of the tims delusions.
I'm a celtic supporter and it's only woke young idiots in their 20s or 30s still making the derby matches political. Old boomer types do not give a fuck
Or most derbies really.
@@kenmasters1803
Am I wrong in thinking it originally stemmed from religion rather than politics?
@@ricochet2977 correct! The original comment poster doesn't have a clue
Day19: Teams that have gone bankrupt/disappeared
Add the word biggest
Everything is politics. How many people say "keep politics out of x" when it's political positions they agree with?
Everyone that is not hypocritical?
Some people use sport to escape from the real world. Those players basically force it back to them
Well in truth you rarely notice the things you agree with in everyday life, so it's more a case of noticing that someone is doing/saying you don't agree with. The thing is it seems the tolerance of people for the possibility of different worldviews has gone done just as much as we have cladded ourselves in bubbles of opinion sameness on social media. Hence why the continual outrage online on both side of an argument.
@@WERTYUIO821 Non-hypocritical conservatives? As if those exist lmfao.
Steven Wertyuiooo do you think players should wear poppies then?
@@Donzacuceron Much like non hypocritical liberals then
Most people's opinions boil down to "keep politics out of sport *if it does not agree with my views* and keep it in otherwise"
I mean, protesting against European Super League is political too.
Protesting against something related to sport (football)is different from protesting against non football related political agendas/ propaganda.
@@pratiksamal3587 Even if you think protesting ESL isn't political, there are other situations in which the line becomes more blurry. What if Ukraine are to play against Russia at the Euros, given recent spat over Crimea? If that happens, even regular tackles can be politically motivated.
@@taufiqutomo you proved my point, which is organized or forced political motives like kneeling , palestine Israel issue etc should be banned however player should be independent to voice their opinions without influencing people in a negative way
@Dmitry Zaripov true political intervention and woke activism is destroying every form of entertainment be it cinemas or sports . I mean shut it and let people chill .
Well this aged well😂😂😂
Should players make political statements during games? No. Should it be talked about when players make political statements outside off football or when they do do it during a game? Yes.
I had someone try and argue with me that Barcelona and Real Madrid rivalry had absolutely nothing to do with politics. Nothing.
These people who say no politics really mean to say "no politics I don't agree with. But politics I like I'm for it"
It’s easy for the people who aren’t oppressed or segregated to say “stick to football” .
@P Ht No. They are sticking up for people who are, as they feel it's necessary to help out those who don't have a platform. The lack of understanding of this is mind-boggling and really goes to show its not the footballers that are idiots.
@P Ht loool footballers can get oppressed do you forgot all the racist chants
@@MichaelJuska Spot on
40 thousand dead white people in 2016 but white people arent oppresed
@@justawarlord white players don’t get sent a bunch of white emojis when others feel like abusing them do they?
"Keep politics out of football" is usually employed as a more of veiled form of the "I'm not racist / xenophobic / homophobic / sexist BUT" trope. Just go to any pride month themed post from whichever Premier League club you support and check the comment section.
I'd love it if we could keep politics out of football. Unfortunately racists / xenophobes / homophobes / sexists bring politics into football with their bullshit and that has to be addressed. The BLM movement isn't bringing politics into football. Racists are bringing politics into football and whine over the consequences.
if its a black lives matter its righthous and just but when a fan says whi. /te lives matter they get banned for life and called racist so fuck your politics
@@justawarlord
BLM: black people disproportionately get their heads kicked in by bored police officers and that's not very good
you: but what about white people!!!!!!!!
@alex x Me: I'd love it if we can keep politics out of football
This guy that can't read or spell: If you want poltics in football you should tolerate when a player does the nazi solute
10/10 argumentation and refutation there.
@alex x “disproportionately”
there’s 4-5 times more white people than black people you smooth brained peanut
Asking players to keep politics out of football is ironically a political agenda , motivated purely by political views. Telling someone what they can and cannot do, is in itself rudimentarily political.
Exactly.
Now they put politics pffftt
I can see why football is a good platform for this kind of thing. But most people watch football to get away from reality, politics ect and they don't want to be reminded of it when they want to detach from the world. Just my opinion
This is it chief
It’s easy for privileged people to say that. Lots of people including footballers cant just escape like you can.
@@lewis9275 I’m not privileged
@@lewis9275 I'm not privileged I'm a working class guy from london who just wants a few hours on the weekend to unwind and detach myself from things and got get agendas pushed down my throat at every turn.
@@reeceh8048 you’re privileged in the sense that your house is free from getting bombed everyday? I’m also working class yet still clearly privileged compared to others.
I'm here after FIFA,Olympics,Paralympics,FIBA,BWF are being double standard towards Russian and Belarusian athletes 🙄🙄
Football should be about uniting fans of differing backgrounds, of differing class or political stance. All I see these recent events have done, is divide previously united fan bases up.
well, fan bases of the same club are allowed to express their opinions about other things too: whether they signed the right players, whether their owners should fire staffs during covid or whether the world cup should be held in Qatar.
so, there are bound to have differing opinions
Remember when Cavani got fined a lot of money because he said "negrito". He is from Uruguay, and in a lot of parts of Latin America "negrito" is said as an affective name when we are with black friends, But because the Woke Kingdom cant allow saying "negro" he got fined.
People watch sports to be entertained, not to be lectured.
No one is lecturing them. It's all about opinions and everyone is entitled to it. These footballers are using their platforms to bring awareness to certain situations and personally I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
@@abubakarkhan5045 Is it their opinion though? Clubs are brands and brands have images to uphold. It's literally in Utd players contracts how to act in public. What if they have polarizing opinions? You'd never hear it or know it.
@@abubakarkhan5045 .
Rubbish! They are jumping on a bandwagon which in itself is fostering racial division not healing!
@@iiNeedSkins From a Muslim point of view, it's only right to see other fellow Muslims standing up for their brothers who are being oppressed. And if they use their platform to do that, then, in my opinion, there is nothing wrong with it.
@@abubakarkhan5045 Well, as a non Muslim I find it ridiculous that we hear nothing about human rights abuses in Muslim countries even when they are hosting a World Cup. Only certain political topics are allowed to be talked about by players etc. Where is the outrage at the slave labour used by Qatar? Where is the boycott? The human rights abuses rampant in KSA? No, it's quite the opposite, players bend the knee to oil money.
I don't think there should be any regulation on what "political" things footballers say. Everybody has a right to voice their political opinions. This should not be changed by the fact they are athletes. It is also very unfair when all other public figures and celebrities are allowed to voice their opinion.
I believe when footballers do share their own political views/joining protests etc that this is perfectly fine as everybody has a right to express their own opinions (for example the lads holding palestinian flags, rashfords campaign)
However the blanket you must take the knee, you must wear a poppy, you must have "black lives matter" on the back of the shirt should be ruled out. I know this is technically the players choice, but if they don't it may harm future transfers and future sponsorship deals. Players should instead be allowed to research the topic and make their own judgements on whether they want to follow what other's are doing. For example when Lyle Taylor refused to take the knee from the start due to his belief that BLM is a racist organisation, or mclean refusing to wear a poppy as he was brought up in the town where bloody Sunday took place. Both of these scenarios are perfectly fine
To add to this, we also need to do our own research too. I remember people telling that footballer to wear a poppy without knowledge of his birth place. Other Republic of Ireland players have chosen to not wear the poppy and have been questioned on social media platforms about it again without knowing the context of the Republic's relationship with British military in the past. As with most things the more informed everyone is the better.
@@stu8095 100% mate, being a baggies fan I saw that player receive abuse not just from away fans but home fans too due to the poppy once a year, and every year I would be outspoken in my appreciation of what he was doing (especially surprising to people as I always choose to wear a poppy myself). It is his choice, if you force someone to take a political stance it then takes away from the significance of what they are doing as they are being forced to do it
They put politics when it favours the west
Fax
I'd like them to protest China ...bet they don't though
Yeah why would we though???
@@srbtlevse16 rigged league, breach of ffp, and Cin Jinping
@@srbtlevse16 Having concentration camps in 2021 is a good reason. Kicking African workers out of their apartments during the pandemic and leaving them to walk the streets (I saw the videos, it's sad that this still happens), the horrible situation in Hong Kong, Inner Mongolia, and Tibet, and much, much, more. The real question is what ISN'T there to protest about China (more specifically, the CCP)??
say the Chinese government NOT China as a whole
bUt WhAt AbOuT cHiNa??!!"!_!!9499
Lmao this so uncanny. Sky Sports News just uploaded a video on 'one year on from George Floyd's murder. How has football changed?" and basically every reaction is like "keep politics out of sports".
While I acknowledge that we should not be blind to what's happening in the world, bringing up something that happened a year ago and tying it to football just for clicks and giving the impression that you care, seems very disingenuous indeed.
I'm curious to hear your take on this!
The way that race crime was so bad, it reminded footballers about the racism that exists in football in general. Goerge Floyd's death was like a realization that if we stay blind to racism, footballers lives are at risk, particularily those of color.
@@AO_Training That, but mostly race abuse online has gone up in the last 5 years. The truth is the current political stance is also a self-interested stance: when you need to be online for your job (cause you need to be on social media when you're a pro player) and suffer racial abuse on the daily you inevitably start to think on the issue and pick a side about it. and when you're team mate who you know to be a decent guy shows you what it is like to a black pro player online and you need him at full capacity to win the title you also quickly pick a side. Compounded to that is also the belief amount poor non-white background that fame and financial success would shield you from (at least frontal) abuse once you've reached a threshold. With social media it's not the case anymore.
@@AO_Training it literally had nothing to do with race at all. You idiots just make everything about race even if they’re is clear video it wasn’t about race. Btw everyone was against the cop at the beginning before people started with the race bullshit
@@AO_Training and did you just say footballers lives are at risk....ffs 🤦♂️
Imo footballers or celebrities can be of great help to further messages across the world since they have a much better reach.
Just look at Kim kardashian. One of the main reasons why the Armenian genocide came into large prominence due to her reach and her fame.
If footballers want to advocate for Palestine,xinjang,rohingya Muslims,BLM,Tibet etc they should be allowed to.
People act like politics in sports is new when it’s literally ingrained in the origin of some teams. Take a look at Liverpool or Man City. Some people just want to be blissfully ignorant to real issues that affect the lives of everyday human beings.
"Politics in the UK has become so polarized over the last decade"
Americans: *laugh*
Taking a stand for human rights should never be considered politics.
Edit: Overall this is a fantastic video. Very objective.
By kneeling
Yes you're right. For the case of Palestine it isn't politics, it's a complete violation of human rights. If you are saying Destroying apartments complexes full of people is Political then I genuinely believe you are "stupid".
Exactly. If say a player had his family, kin or countrymen ki||ed or oppressed and he spoke out against it, would you tell him to "shut up and stay quiet"?? In that scenario he feels a moral obligation to speak out. It's the person that doesn't want any part of it that should stay quiet if that's what they choose.
Tired of regimes like lsraeI, Chína and UAE gagging people, and getting people fired or bIackballed for speaking out just because the former has power. Things like war crimes, ethníc cleansing or genxcide aren't "politics", they're crimes against humanity. If sport is punishing people for speaking their conscious then it's the sport that's become the problem. The Nazís used the Olympics and sports events for their own ends in that manner.
Well said
@@kyon_gold perhaps they shouldnt be harbouring known terrorists
West's hypocrisy be like:
Well that's the reality bro 😔😔...Russian and Belarusian athletes are being punished for something that they can't control but when it comes to Israel?? Nothing happen!!
@@imranirsyad7427 true
All the brits saying to keep politics out of football but send death threats to players who refuse to wear the poppy🤣 cognitive dissonance doesn't even come close to describing the level of delusion.
You think this guy sends death threats? Maybe best not to generalise an entire country’s population
the poppy is a symbol of remembrance and peace. refusing to wear one simply tells the world that youre ok with receiving death threats
@@hugh.g.rection5906 would you say not taking the knee shows youre racist? because the knee has become a symbol of recognising racial equality? I don’t think your logic here is particularly sound.
@@hugh.g.rection5906 If poppies were just a symbol of remembrance and peace, they wouldn't appear on the fuselage of an RAF fighter-bomber jet.
There’s a difference between not wearing the poppy and supporting a terrorist organisation like the IRA which killed innocent Brits tho who have nothing to do with Northern Ireland
Tryna keep politics out of football would be like tryna play football without a football. Impossible.
Keep politics out of Football
When people say keep politics out of football they mean politics that are uncomfortable because it challenges their worldview.
Exactly
Look how people lose their shit when racism is discussed “it’s not that bad just ignore it” they say
And the insane whataboutism too
People want *every* politics out of the game.
Why some people can't understand that the world is not just out to get them?
This didn't age well
Great video Alfie. Unfortunately, those who say keep politics out of football are too ignorant to look at facts between the historical relation of Football and politics.
what Marcus Rashford did is an absolutely noble act, a beautiful gesture and he deserves all praise for it - that is an example of a person people can and should look up to not only as a footballer but also as a human being - hats down!
edit: humanitarianism is NOT political
Yeah, I think this is something we all agree on.
Yeah that I can agree on ...
@@WERTYUIO821 you might find a group of Millwall fans doing loud monkey noises opposing that statement
Free school meals for kids of useless parents that couldn't keep it in their pants and are a net drain on society is political.
If you think it isn't you live in a bubble.
You think money grows on trees.
@@eyeballjellyforbreakfast poverty is a socio-economical problem, not political - quite apparent understanding the difference is beyond you, so if I were you I wouldn't elaborate on that "wisdom" of yours here
As a FC. St. Pauli fan I have to say, politics are a big part of my club, this I oppose a political silencing of football*ers.
I have great respect for that club. You have so many people who do not like your club because of your progressive stance.
Great respect for your club mate
Love your club as a celtic fan
inspired by the recent spain squad selection, can you please do a video about the catalonia national team and whether it should be considered an actual national team?
Yes, but stop forcing everyone to kneel for a year straight, it gets annoying.
You get idiots like Ty doing it after every goal
@@prometheustv6558 He is a hopeless manchild
Saying that black people deserve to live isn’t political. If you think it is there’s something wrong about you.
@@Intheflesh1 i don't think he was being political, rather saying that kneeling gets annoying but your not wrong
Oh dear, one year is too much for you, a white person, what the fuck does it matter to you? It doesn't delay the game does it? In fact it does nothing to change the game whatsoever so why does it matter? Because you don't like it full stop, you wanna boo. At the same time yes Ty does it waaaaaay too much for all those saying
Keep politics out of sports. Sports is one of the few places left where we can all come together regardless of beliefs. If we get rid of those few things, we will only grow further apart and more divided and that will hurt us all
"Stick to football " is a useless thought terminating cliche. Just because you're a footballer, that isn't all that you are. Footballers are like binmen, when they clock off they don't spend the other 8 hours a day thinking of bins.
Correct to a degree but I'm yet to see the bin man take a knee for social justice.
@@TheJakedart binmen dont have the same platform as footballers...
@@TheJakedart footballers have a huge multi national platform to raise awareness. So they take it.
@@rudysanchez822 Utilising a platform to promote inept ideas is the big dumb though. BLM spent 21.5% of their total donations on charitable causes. But the BLM Leader bought a nice big old mansion for herself. If an athlete making millions takes the knee to allow one woman to make millions then go ahead but there's no distribution of wealth In these 'social causes.'
......
That’s a bit of a weird analogy
Yes. We're here for the sports, not the politics
First of all: Great video, as always.
I guess other people also mentioned it, but I would love to see a deeper dive into the role the FA and especially clubs play in all of this. Just thinking about the Özil tweets for example and I guess there are many more examples that weren't covered nearly as much.
There could also be a video idea in the way international tournaments like the Euros and the World Cup have been used in politics...
Keep up the great work
Basic human rights are not politics.
As short as my knowledge goes, sports has a similarity with politics in terms of citizen participation. So yeah, I don't think it would be possible to separate sports with politics. Even voicing out 'keep politics out of football' is political, because it means that he/she is telling his/her personal views and/or choice.
This guy's content is way better than that of the Irish Guy. He puts a lot more research into the sport and is way less divisive in terms of his opinions.
The Irish Guy is for comedy reasons, right?
this ages like milk
Remember Robbie Fowler being fined for wearing a T shirt in support of striking dock workers ? Clearly not a woke issue
How can you make Fowler’s great gesture an attack on progressive politics? You need a proper awakening.
@@Hellserch Fowler was fined heavily because politics isn't allowed in football - so why is it ok for BLM ? I admire Fowler for it
@@saraw6446 Politics isn’t allowed in football is it? Explain why England refused to pick eligible black footballers for 20 years then? But that’s not what you mean by politics, is it?
@@Hellserch No it isn't actually, I'll say this once ...No politics is an actual rule,
@@saraw6446 So what is Politics? Kneeling is political just like allowing whites racists to barrack and undermine black players. That’s political, wouldn’t you say. You see racists have a problem historically anytime black people stand up for their rights. They start squawking about unfairness and over representation. No matter, black people aren’t stopping this time. Get used to it.
I don't mind politics in football or any sport for that matter. Drogba's call to end the civil war in his country is brought to my mind.
Unfortunately, most of these athletes are either ill-informed or manipulative. They often choose to support the popular, political viewpoint, ie Black Lives Matter and Palestine.
Some athletes do not, like Mesut Ozil's of the Uyghur people.
Every athlete has the right to state their mind, freedom and speech and all. But a club has the right to reprimand them since that athlete is representing their club.
correct. i've no qualms if they are protesting legitimate issues. but most of the time, they are participating based on the fake mainstream divide and conquer narrative.
I think arsenal as a club are full of Sh**, threw ozil out because “they don’t get involved in politics” but now they do?🤦🏽♂️ Western Hypocrisy is unreal😂😂 … heart goes out to the people of Ukraine, stand against all oppression!!
Sport has always been political. What HAS changed is how strongly (and how many) people view politics as part of their identity.
Differerences on social/political issues can be so strong that they can instantly terminate relationships between "friends".
Social media (for all its benefits) has contributed to this, IMHO.
Should we? yes. Can we? no.
some people love to say "hey, let go back to old fashioned rules/days" when they feel threatened but at the same time, they forget to address what old fashioned days they want to go.
The way you include comic statements in your videos in such calm manner like in the case of Kane and Lingard is an absolute gift and I want to learn that from you.
Yorkshire humour mate
As an American, even though this video describes football/soccer it’s very applicable to any American sport as well. Great video
There have been this shift in recent years with the rise of social media, were people seem to be much more interested in what celebrities and influencers think about all sorts of matters, taking up much space in the media, rather than informed opinions from actual experts on the matter. That is where my issue is - if a footballer is truly passionate about a topic, has done the research and decided this is something I really want to do something about, then that's totally fine - but it seems like their opinions and actions, like many other celebrities, are often actually dictated by twitter trends.
football was born out of factory workers and their unions ... it's not only very political, but it also should always take the side of those who are the most fragile and powerless
I have no problem with Rashford, he is doing something that isn't overly political and he isn't doing it in a stadium, taking a knee to black racists or flying the flag of anti-Semites is another matter. You're entitled to your opinion, you are not entitled to shove it down my throat inside a stadium while wearing the colours of the club I love...and you will rightly get some stick if you try it when the fans are back.
taking a knee is... racist?
is it only “overly political” when it’s an issue that you don’t agree with?
So you can shout racist abuse at players and they can't peacefully demonstrate against it. Got it. Really logical
@@lollipopsaresmelly He is saying players are not allowed to do anything he disagrees with. Apart from that he is quite open minded imo
@@assa1905 i never thought about it that way. Really insightful now that I reflect
Football matches used to be places where for one afternoon a week ordinary people could go to escape work, politics and their personal problems. The fan next to you could be a Marxist, a Socialist, a Liberal, a Tory or a fringe Right-winger and for 90mins you sang from the same hymn sheet. People could let off some steam and enjoy the ups and downs. Now that has been replaced with a sanitised environment where the rich are safe in their private boxes and the poor are either priced out and told how to behave. Bring back REAL football.
Yeah that's just not true. There are countless football clubs who have had a staunch left/ring wing view. Look at teams like Livorno or Lazio. Communism vs fascism is an everyday thing. It comes from the community, it's what they believe in. Football started from rich tory landlords and factory owners setting up teams for their working class left wing employees.
@@dan5974 There are far, far more football rivalries that don't involve religion/politics than the few that do. Also most football clubs were started by middle class enthusiasts or shop floor works teams, not by Factory owners. If you are going to encourage activism in football then don't complain when fans on the Far Right become 'activists'.
@@obadiahspong2300 you'll be short in finding many clubs in Europe who are not political. Complaining about the far right does nothing anyway, we have better solutions to that.
@@dan5974 There is a big difference between a club that is overtly political and a club rivalry where the fans have constructed a faux political differentiation for the sake of spicing up the rivalry.
@@obadiahspong2300 "hey guys, wouldn't it be just hilarious if we pretended to be fascists?"
Yeah. No. That's never happened.
Can you please do a video about dejan savicevic? I recently found out about him and I think your input on him would add so much to my perception of him.
berlin '36, argentina '78, the sole existence of a national league; the three instances in my country where politics and football openly mixed that comes to my mind
Hey can you make a video on dinamo zagreb vs red star belgrade game in 1990 that is considered by many Croats to start the Independence war in Yugoslavia?
You have a good first name.....Barišić 🔴⚪🔵
@@JoshAston23 congrats on winning the scottish prem
Well I’m Mexican American living in the United States we have the same debate here and honestly I hate it when anything other than sports is on TV especially politics. The last person I wanna hear talking about politics are athletes making hundreds of thousands of dollars or euros a week. I just want to enjoy the sports I’m watching and see the team win. Everything has a time and a place and the pitch or stadium is not it in my opinion.
Also a Mexican-American myself and agree 💯 with you...I'm a very political person myself but yes keep politics out of sports!!
So youd rather hear politics from politians who also earn hundreds of thousands a week?
@@ibrahimbs2511 no we would rather make our own mind up thank you
@@stephenking8505 lol yeah, your decisions are made with the most accurate information the elite owned media beam into your little brain
@@stephenking8505 of course youre allowed to do that, but so are athletes. Im oretty sure they arent persuading you to do anything, theyre just expressing their own views.
Agree with pretty much everything in this video, fair play as always Alfie - you are undoubtedly a level-headed viewpoint on footy-related issues! I have little issue with "politics" being in football, however there is one issue I would like to give a view on.
Sky sports pundits talking about the "working class game":
I personally do not believe that ANYONE employed by Sky Sports (or potentially even buying a Sky Sports subscription, but this is a bit polemicist and I'm not so sure) can say much at all about the game being taken from the working class. SKY SPORTS ARE ONE OF THE BIGGEST REASONS. The Premier League, in 1992, was one of the beginnings of this process! This, too, was a breakaway league, and since its existence the wealth gap between top tier clubs and 2nd tier and below has massively widened to ludicrous extents! They charge huge subscription fees and they've orientated the whole matchweek around to suit themselves instead of fans who they try and make out they are helping! They are all about some political movements, but (as far as I'm aware) do fuck all to help the smallest clubs who are going under due to lack of funding and the pandemic when they surely have the means to help! There's little more than an Instagram post when a club goes under, a club where the majority of the fans WILL ACTUALLY BE working class!! It absolutely drives me mental how people talk about Neville etc. as the saviour, the hero of English football after the whole Super League thing, but he and Sky Sports are one of the biggest reasons for football going downhill, and one of the biggest reasons for so many working class fans being fed up with the game(in my view).
I don’t know if you just wanted to avoid it but you could have brought up clubs that are built on politics or have potluck deeply ingrained in them like Barcelona be Madrid or St Pauli(correct me if I’m wrong on that club)
As long as you know what you are supporting. But Premier League players seem to jump into the BLM and Palestinian train without enough info
On what basis do you make that statement?
@@animeshkhare1769 Looks like he aint got 'enough info'
@@randomzz3394 lmaoo nice one
@@animeshkhare1769 the dude thinks invading a country and stealing lands, kicking people out of there houses and killing children with airstrikes is a “train”
@@animeshkhare1769 The fact the prem had no idea what BLM was prior to George Floyd it's origins history and political views which advocates for the destruction of the nuclear family, capitalism and private property rights.
"It's only politics when it doesn't affect you"
That makes 0 sense
@@jamiekelly5086 politics is everything, when it affects your life, that’s your everything
@@joemm96 so because it affects you it should effect everyone else. Do what you want with your platform but not everyone will share your opinion so do it in your own time. Otherwise we would have nothing but weekly movements im football..
Ow wait
@@jamiekelly5086 I’m not talking about myself. But as a player, if it affects them, or those they love, it’s their responsibility to give light to the marginalised, their community’s slight chance of hope may depend on it
And at the end of the day, there are things way bigger than football.
You may not understand cos such has never been a part of your life. That doesn’t mean it’s not valid.
Maybe take some time to really really try look at life through someone else’s eyes, while maintaining the same sense of individuality and right you have now.
On the other side of the fence, you would be speaking to. I guarantee it.
@@joemm96 I think you're missing what am trying to say protest as much as you want on whatever subject you want but it shouldnt be be in sport. Sport is a place where people are meant to come together regardless and religion or beliefs and when you allow politics in it creates devide just like now with us. Its ok to disagree with other peoples opinions but then where does it end.
Imaging your support one side I support another and we both go on the pitch and protest then what do we do am sure the FA have to pick a side who get silenced.
I hate it when people tell footballers (for example) to 'stick to football' - but the idiots who say that never realise that if we could all only talk about our jobs, then 99% of us could never talk about football again...
I enjoy the fact that thousands of people from different backgrounds and views can come together in their support of the same club. On any issue there's probably around a 50/50 split. We can disagree on everything but still love the same team for 90min and still find common ground for friendship.
(I'd also prefer actors & musicians would stick to their day jobs too)
Many peoples political views change a lot from their early 20's too.
Maybe I'm just old
You make a good case, however I think it's also fair that members of the public can tell them to shut up and get back to work if they disagree, it's not like they have to pay attention. The larger issue is whether they (sportspeople) are coerced into, or prohibited from, making political statements by their employers. For example all the players taking the knee at the start of games. I'm pretty sure they don't all care deeply about the issue, but they don't want to upset the apple cart so they all end up doing it, no doubt the same way those footballers felt in 1938.
And quickly on flags, I'd suggest if you have a group of fans carrying Palestinian flags and a group carrying Israeli flags that seems like a recipe for a mass brawl, even if the act itself is well intentioned.
^^^
Lol..."We'll be stripping you of every trophy you've ever won"... Goodness me.
It's really quite simple, whenever someone sees a football player display political messages and ideologies they disagree with, they'll claim that we should "keep politics out of football", and yet when it's something they agree with, those players are brave and amazing. It's a ridiculous double standard. To me, you either praise everyone for being brave and displaying their ideologies, or you don't let anyone display their ideologies whatsoever. No middle ground.
Day 13: Indonesia XI If All Eligible Players Had Declared For Them
I'd back that
Could you give some examples of footballers with Indonesian descent? I don’t know a single one
@@bluest.9320 Emil Audero, Sampdoria's first choice keeper and former Juve backup.
@@bluest.9320 Radja Nainggolan a shout too, probably the most high profile
Riedewald lol. His mom is from Indonesia
Very good video, it too has been on my mind a lot especially regarding Palestine. I do agree with your final stance, of how football is escapism but really there can be no football without politics. And I feel those who are of the sentiment of not to mix politics with entertainment just despise those political opinions and don't want it shown in their beloved football. All entertainers should be allowed to have political opinions and just because they aren't in that field doesn't mean they can't have well-founded political beliefs/
I don't usually comment, but this is a really interesting video you've done Alfie! congrats and thanks for the content
Interesting, I found this little twerp telling me what I should and shouldn't spend my dollars on totally draining to the soul.
think there’s an important distinction between social issues and politics. how someone can think discussing child hunger, rape, or war & violence is political needs to get a grip
Completely agree
I agree as well
On this subject, could you look at how Arsenal handled Ozil speaking out against the xinjang genocide?
I applaud özil for doing this as it is vastly overlooked by nations in the west but I then look at his support/relationship with Erdogan and what he has done to try and make himself president for life as well as trying to curb the basic human rights such as free speech as well as the rights of women and homosexuals. It is difficult for me to seriously try and praise özil for trying to draw attention to the plight of uighur Muslims in China when he supports a dictator who is trying to curb freedoms in his own country.
Yes because I and many others don't want to be reminded about how shit the world can be and it gives us all that bit of happiness and brings us all together (even though there's banter).
fair but don't you think that sports can be used as a platform to make the world a little less shit?
1 minute doesn't hurt you then off with your match
so when 40 thousand people got killed in zimbawe they had these marches ? these politics ?
@@keshavkapoor6329 No because again, People want to see football for football not for anything else, Just like how dana white said about the ufc. People came to see fights. This isn't the bbc news or anything like that.
@@justawarlord This isn't zimbabw though, This is the uk
Norway and Germany protesting WC in Qatar, could have been mentioned here.
Depends if you classify sports as a form of escapism or not.
Anyone with a platform should be entitled to express their views. It is for us, the unwashed masses to decide if we agree or not. We are all entitled to express our opinions and we should all expect to be widely supported and/or mocked for it.
The problem is our society is one sided. Imagine if a footballer spoke up for israel and condemned the antisemitism in the arab world and the arab colonisation of palestine and north africa. They would be fined and banned straight away. But if you campaigned for the abolition of gender identity and openly celebrated and gloated about abortions you'd be treated like a god
Bang on m8. Couldn't agree more. My issues is when footballers don't fully understand what is going on. I think maybe on the pitch they should be banned and off they would be legal, as they are free people with their own opinions
Thank God for technology giving us stats and the introduction of VAR. If we really really want to remove Bias from football, let's forget votings for players on the spotlight and use general stats like, duels won, passes completed, chances created, recoveries, saves, blocked shots, goals, assists and goal contributions, tackles completed, clearances, e.t.c and mathematically calculate them in a manner that you can draw conclusion of shortlists. Forget about players on the spotlight, because attacking players like Mbappe, Neymar, Ronaldo, Haaland and Messi gets the spotlights. There is no doubt that they are spectacular players and will still smash the top stats, but if we really want to live up to the term "unbiased" overall stats is the way to go.
@@realtalkwithphil i feel like you are arguing the wrong thing lol. There is a problem with your argument, as getting 30 goals in the prem is different than say the swedesh second tier. There are things that calculate these sort of things and stats, and they are used. Also, you can compare yourself if you are interested
@@sagihaim2791 Okay, i get your point.