Russian President Vladimir Putin and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin at the Luzhniki Stadium, which will host matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Alexei Druzhinin / Sputnik / Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin at the Luzhniki Stadium, which will host matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Alexei Druzhinin / Sputnik / Reuters

The World Cup is at risk of becoming a substitute for ugly geopolitics



The summer of 1980 was gearing up to be an impressive showcase for the Soviet Union as it prepared to host the Summer Olympics – until the country invaded Afghanistan. Russian dissident Andrei Sakharov called for a boycott and after the US endorsed the policy, several dozen countries pulled out. What should have been a celebration of sporting achievement became a clash of political ideologies.

Politics and sport rarely mix well but even more rarely can they be separated. Today as in 1980, Russia is once again on a collision course with western powers and a huge global sporting event has become politicised, both within and beyond the host country.

“We have opened our country and our hearts to the world,” said Russian President Vladimir Putin in a short video released last week as players began to arrive in Moscow. “Welcome to Russia.”

For Mr Putin – hardly a football fan but cognisant, as any politician must be, of the sport's wide appeal – the World Cup is an opportunity to showcase a particular vision of Russia to his own people and the world.

From the starting kick in two days' time to the final whistle next month, this World Cup will be suffused – infected, even – with politics.

For Russia, it is a political tournament at a time when the country is more dominant in global politics than it has been for decades.

For the West, particularly European leaders, it is a tense moment, with politicians wary of giving legitimacy to the Russian regime but fearful of looking out-of-touch with their football-obsessed electorate.

And for many of those competing, there are political landmines as the games throw up sporting clashes between countries engaged in political ones.

The beautiful game has a surprisingly ugly side.

As happened in 1980, politics reared its head long before kick-off with early calls for a boycott of Russia. The poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in a sleepy British town in March – with the finger pointed at Russia by the British – began the calls.

Boris Johnson, Britain's foreign secretary, at first seemed to raise the prospect of the England team being kept at home before a storm of protest forced clarifications to be swiftly issued. The UK government has settled for not sending any high-level diplomats to the event.

Calls for a widespread boycott by athletes, rather than merely political representatives, never gained much traction but the World Cup certainly comes at a moment of incredible tension between Russia and the West. Moscow's involvement in the Syria conflict, its annexation of Crimea and the blame levelled at it for the downing of a civilian airliner have meant relations are as bad as they have been for decades.

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But many inside and outside Russia will be willing to look beyond the politics to the sport on the pitch. A World Cup that is professionally organised and completed without security incidents will be a triumph for Mr Putin, reflecting the image he likes to portray of his presidency. And a global audience watching the World Cup is less likely to be interested in Russia's poisons, annexations or naval bases in Syria.

The politics on the pitch is not confined to Russia and the West. Perhaps fortunately, the most potentially explosive matches will not happen. Perennial rivals Spain and Portugal will face each other but Sweden versus Denmark and South Korea versus Japan, two rivalries that always bring out the latent nationalism of those countries, will not take place.

This year, four Arab countries have made it to the tournament, plus Iran. It is unlikely, although possible, that Saudi Arabia could play Iran, a potentially combustible clash that would be seen as the sporting proxy of the pair's current geopolitical clash.

When Saudi Arabia and Egypt meet, it will reflect the good relations the two countries have. But if either play Iran, it will be seen through the prism of politics – with certain triumphalism to follow from the winning party.

None of these matches, of course, will change the geopolitical reality. Saudi Arabia will still face Iran's proxies in Yemen; Russian arms will still threaten Europe.

But somehow, far from making people forget the difficult political realities, footballing rivalry only seems to exacerbate it.

Perhaps the reason lies in the messiness of politics and the neatness of sport. No football clash, however bathed in meaning, will extend beyond extra time. Two hours after kick-off, it will all be over, with a clear result.

Politics, unfortunately, is not like that. Think back to the 1980 Olympic boycott. Then US president Jimmy Carter had successfully denied Moscow the global celebration it wanted.

Yet it turned out to be a pyrrhic victory. Public opinion turned against the decision and what ought to have been a moral victory was turned into political posturing. Within months, Mr Carter had lost an election to Ronald Reagan.

The neat lines of sport had morphed into the blurred lines of politics.

At a time when global politics seems more blurred than ever, the beautiful game should be a distraction from ugly geopolitics. Instead, because of the complexity of global affairs, the sport is at risk of becoming a substitute for it.

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COMPANY PROFILE
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Four-day collections of TOH

Day             Indian Rs (Dh)        

Thursday    500.75 million (25.23m)

Friday         280.25m (14.12m)

Saturday     220.75m (11.21m)

Sunday       170.25m (8.58m)

Total            1.19bn (59.15m)

(Figures in millions, approximate)

Election pledges on migration

CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections" 

SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom" 

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
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  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

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Director: Jafar Panahi

Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr

Rating: 4/5

ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA

Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi

Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser

Rating: 4.5/5

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EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years

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Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries

Smoother border management with use of e-gates

Cutting red tape on import and export of food

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Winners

Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)

Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski

Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)

Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)

Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea

Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona

Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)

Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)

Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)

Best National Team of the Year: Italy 

Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello

Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)

Player Career Award: Ronaldinho

Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners

Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Best Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta)
Best Referee: Gianluca Rocchi
Best Goal: Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria vs Napoli)
Best Team: Atalanta​​​​​​​
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Serie B Best Young Player: Sandro Tonali (Brescia)
Best Women’s Goal: Thaisa (Milan vs Juventus)
Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan)
Best Women’s XI: Laura Giuliani (Milan); Alia Guagni (Fiorentina), Sara Gama (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Elisa Bartoli (Roma); Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus); Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Ilaria Mauro (Fiorentina), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus)

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A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank

RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards

It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.

In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments

The name blends two words rupee and payment

Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs

Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten

Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a  month before Reaching the Last Mile.

Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

 

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

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Director:Shakun Batra

Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa

Rating: 4/5

The Settlers

Director: Louis Theroux

Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz

Rating: 5/5

ACL Elite (West) - fixtures

Monday, Sept 30

Al Sadd v Esteghlal (8pm)
Persepolis v Pakhtakor (8pm)
Al Wasl v Al Ahli (8pm)
Al Nassr v Al Rayyan (10pm)

Tuesday, Oct 1
Al Hilal v Al Shorta (10pm)
Al Gharafa v Al Ain (10pm)

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W.
Wael Kfoury
(Rotana)

Who has been sanctioned?

Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.

Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.

Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.

Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.

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