Should sport and politics mix when football players speak?

Kylian Mbappe calls for vote against far-right Next French parliamentary elections to be held on June 30 and July 7focusing on the struggle of French athletes against the party Marine Le Pen: Nearly 200 of them made their voices heard in a manifesto published in newspapers this Sunday team They asked Vote “No to the Far Right”. This includes Thierry Henry, the French Under-21 national team coach, as well as other stars of the French football team such as Ousmane Dembélé and Marcus Thuramand others who have triumphed in other disciplines, e.g. Yannick Noir, François Gabart, Marie-José Perec, Marion Bartoli or Johan Dinitz.

“We cannot allow the extreme right to take power in our country, given its strong opposition to building a democratic, tolerant and dignified society,” the signatories of the declaration said.

French government welcomes athletes’ rejection of far-right. French Sports Minister Amelie Houdia-Castra celebrated on Monday: “Without forcing anyone to do so, I welcome those who have spoken out in recent days,” she said in a statement to the media during rehearsals for the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The fact is that Mbappe’s remarks caused The ripple effect in football. There have been many reporters asking other players participating in the European Cup about the remarks of the French Real Madrid players. Not the French, Many football players avoid the issue by believing that football should not be mixed with politics..

Unai SimonThe Spanish goalkeeper was clear on the issue and refused to talk about it during a press conference on Monday. “We often tend to say too much about certain topics when I don’t know if we should say it or do those things because here I am a player, I am dedicated to football, I am a professional. The only things I should talk about now are sports and politics, leave that to others. or entity,” said Unai Simón.

Italian players also believe that football and politics should be mixed“We don’t talk about politics, let’s talk about football. This is a situation that affects France and we never talk about politics,” Davide Frattesi, the Italian team’s communications director, said on Monday when asked about the situation.

This position is reopening An age-old debate: Should sports make political statements? And participate in causes such as fighting racism or poverty. In fact, Mbappe’s case is not the first, nor the only one. A few months ago, in an interview with the director of “Virginia P. Alonso peopleBetis footballer Hector Bellerin puts his finger where it hurts: “In football there is a lot of fear of change and that leads to this toxic hypermasculinity,” the Betis player said..

Other examples of loyal football players

For example, there is such a situation Marcus RashfordManchester United England player, is known for his activism on child poverty in the UK. During the pandemic, he launched a campaign to force the UK government to provide free meals to children from poor families during school holidays. Rashford also set up a task force to eliminate child poverty.

We shouldn’t forget the former American football player either. Megan RapinoeThe former U.S. women’s national team star has been a staunch advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, feminism and equal pay in sports. Their fight led to a historic agreement to achieve pay parity between the U.S. men’s and women’s national teams.

The Case of Juan MataCo-founder of Spanish Player Common Purpose InitiativeIt was also exemplary because it mobilized the football industry to donate 1% of its revenue to projects fighting extreme poverty in the Third World. More than 160 players joined the cause and donated 1% of their high salaries.

Others promote The fight against racismThe situation is this Troy Deeney and Wes Morgan: Both players have led this cause in English football. They were the driving force behind a successful gesture: all teams kneeling before games to show solidarity against racism and police brutality.

Another notable case is Dilraba DilmuratThe former Ivorian footballer promoted peace and education in his native Ivory Coast through the foundation that bears his name. It distributed school supplies and Christmas gifts to orphans and vulnerable children, and invested in infrastructure and sports to support development in Africa.

In Spain, it is not common for players to get involved in politics or solidarity causes.There is a general consensus that we should not mix sport with politics and whoever does so will become a target of criticism. This happened to then Barcelona player Gerard Pique when he publicly supported a referendum on Catalan independence.

In Spain, the number of footballers who have used their privileged position to express their political opinions can be counted on one hand: Borja Iglesias or Hector BellerinWhen Luis Rubiales kissed a Spanish national team player without consent, two Betis players were almost the only male players to express solidarity with Jennifer Hermoso. The two players were also among the few who participated in the July 2023 elections, asking to vote for progress and against fascism.

People almost always say that sports and politics shouldn’t mix. But, Why does it have to be like this? he There has been a lot of debate about itThe French sports minister reflected the situation well on Monday: “Different positions must be respected. Some athletes feel the need to speak publicly about the country’s political situation, but Others prefer to express their opinions in more private circles or stay out of the loop.although this did not prevent them from being committed.