Balkan political tensions ostensibly came up in Russia 2018 following the double-headed eagle celebrations of Switzerland players Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiriagainst Serbia on Friday. There is history to it. In 2014, a Euro 2016 qualifier between Serbia and Albania had to be abandoned after a brawl between players from both sides following a flag stunt with a remote controlled mini drone.
We look at eight previous incidents from the World Cup where football and politics have mixed:
1. There have been a host of reports and indications over the years of manipulation at the 1934 World Cup by Benito Mussolini to help Italy win the tournament. Allegations are that Mussolini decided on referees for the Italy matches. That edition also saw the Nazi salute by the German team and also by a Swedish referee and his German and Hungarian linesmen.
2. Austria had a great team and had qualified for the 1938 World Cup. However, Germany occupied them and Austrians were made to play for them. Striker Matthias Sindelar, however, reportedly cited age for refusing to play for Germany. Fascist salutes during line-ups continued to be prevalent at this edition as well.
3. There was much tension when El Salvador and Honduras played three qualification matches for the 1970 World Cup in June 1969 and, a month later, the two countries were engaged in a four-day war over land reforms in Honduras.
4. East Germany’s group-stage game against West Germany at the 1974 World Cup was a match with tremendous political repercussions. East Germany came out on top in the match-up between the divided countries with contrasting ideologies. There was a massive security cover for that game. Before the East Germany vs Chile match in the tournament, police had seized banners and arrested some people who were protesting against the military junta in Chile.
5.Argentina’s 6-0 win over Peru at the 1978 World Cup has been one of the biggest controversies in world football. It has been alleged that the Argentine junta, which wanted to utilize the tournament for their propaganda, handed bribes in form of wheat and a loan to Peru to lose the match.
6. After the defeat to UK in the Falkland War, Argentina’s victory over England in the 1986 World Cup was seen as a big victory off the field with Diego Maradona saying “it was our revenge”. He first scored a cheeky hand-ball goal and then another off a wonderful solo run.
7. Another politically-charged game at a World Cup was Iran’s clash with USA in 1998 France. The two nations have had a bickering relation for a long time. There were no untoward incidents at the game but Iran’s win triggered wide-spread celebrations back home.
8. North Korea and South Korea both qualified for the 2010 World Cup but there were problems during the qualification process as North Korea were against South Korea’s national anthem being played in the country or flag being hoisted. Finally, the clash between the two countries was played in a neutral venue, China.