In refusing to sing the national anthem these athletes have placed themselves in grave danger while Gianni Infantino sides with the American war machine
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small but telling detail from a vast and baffling chain of events. You probably saw the footage of Donald Trump’s declaration of war on Iran two weeks ago, a piece of history played out in real time, a moment where the inevitable violent deaths of thousands of people were in effect announced.
In the video Trump is shown propped up at his plinth, using that sing-song intonation he employs to appear cod-statesmanlike, faux-grave, but sounding instead like a semi-sentient robot vacuum cleaner in the seconds before it runs out of battery life. To the great people of Iran. America is backing you. Don’t go outside. It’s very dangerous out there. We will for the foreseeable future be bombing you to freedom.
Having bragged about sending servicemen and women to commit acts of war, Trump moves on to encouraging the people of Iran to walk into the path of one of the world’s most viciously militarised states. Guys. This is your big chance. Like the Kurds. Remember the first Gulf war? The great, very brave, very massacred Kurdish people. So do it now. Go out and overthrow a murderous theocracy with your bare hands. If you’re up for it.
