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SPAIN have won the FIFA World Cup for a second time but their Sunday victory over Argentina became more rewarding by bringing a much-needed smile to the harrowed Palestinian people in their undeterred fight against the genocidal occupation of their homeland. It might seem a curious alignment of obviously distant spaces between Europe’s Spain and Asia’s occupied Palestine. But then, everyone knows that sports have always been intertwined with their strange political connections. Sunday’s World Cup final represented a contemporary intertwining of sports and politics.
What happened on the field was a stymied Argentina succumbing to a team that moved like a symphony. Off the field, we saw the politically motivated mistreatment of the Iranian team by the host country under President Donald Trump’s watch. Even here, though, the Iranians made their point with quiet grace. The perennially sanctioned country, facing daily bombardments from the US-led military, didn’t shirk from sending a team to the enemy country to stake its claim as a qualified contestant in the fixtures. On the other hand, the outlandishly pampered Israel with its fabled clout and connections was never barred from the contest on political grounds as has happened, for example, with Russia. Only it failed to qualify while Iran passed the gruelling test. And that’s an important comparison to note.
