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MOSCOW – The World Cup has been introduced into the explosive mix of politics and football, a dangerous terrain that world football is trying to avoid. An increasing number of disciplinary procedures and the threat of a star player this weekend.
The crises involved players for several teams and tackled a range of topics: Kosovar independence, Serbian nationalism, a beloved Egyptian striker and a controversial Chechen leader. At least one of these disagreements could eventually force FIFA, the governing body of world football, to suspend suspensions in the middle of the tournament, which could affect teams who would withdraw from one of the first round groups. of the tournament.
Early Sunday, FIFA announced that its Disciplinary Committee had opened three other procedures related to the difficult match between Switzerland and Serbia, bringing the match total to six. A few hours later, it appeared that one of the tournament's most popular players, Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah, was considering retiring from his national team as a result of his interactions with a Chechen politician.
FIFA's political problems began when Swiss players Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri both made the so-called double eagle symbol after scoring in a 2-1 victory against Serbia. The gesture, made by linking the thumbs and spreading the fingers of both hands, is a nationalistic sign that many make with Albanian roots to symbolize the black eagle of the Albanian flag. (Xhaka and Shaqiri have roots in Kosovo, an ethnically Albanian province that waged a war of independence against Serb-dominated Yugoslav forces in the late 1990s.)
For most of the world, the symbol does not make sense. A Brazilian commentator thought that the players were making a sign of peace and applauded their attempts at Balkan reconciliation. In Serbia, however, the gesture was perceived as a provocation.
The Serbian Football Federation, however, faced its own disciplinary procedure for an exhibition of political messages by its fans during the match. Serbia had already been fined for the FIFA World Cup after its supporters had presented what FIFA called a "Serbian paramilitary nationalist movement" in its match against Costa Rica.
Then, on Sunday, FIFA opened three new investigations: against the Swiss Stephan Lichtsteiner, who is not of Albanian origin, for the act of the double-eagle and against the president of the Serbian Football Federation, Slavisa Kokeza, and his coach, Mladen Krstajic. they were accused of doing after the match.
Then, Salah, the biggest Egyptian star, was planning to retire from the national team after the end of the World Cup after a political controversy related to the decision of his federation to live and train in Chechnya during the tournament.
On the eve of the tournament, photos of Salah were born alongside Ramzan A. Kadyrov, the Chechen leader, at the first training session in Egypt. After learning that Salah was to miss the session, Kadyrov drove to the Egyptian hotel to call the bed player. Kadyrov is the president of Chechnya since 2007, three years after the murder of his father. He has been charged with supervising torture, extrajudicial executions and a purge of gays.
After the defeat of Egypt against Russia on Tuesday, a result that ensured the elimination of the Egyptians from the tournament, Kadyrov hosted a dinner for the team during which he presented to Salah the Chechen honorary citizenship.
"Mohamed Salah is an honorary citizen of the Chechen Republic! It's true!" Kadyrov wrote on social media. "I gave Mohamed Salah a copy of the order and a lapel pin at a celebratory dinner that I gave in honor of the Egyptian team. . "
Salah has always deliberately avoided being turned into a political or religious figure, and CNN reported that he was furious that he was exposed to criticism that followed the publication of the original photographs with Kadyrov.
Being honored by Kadyrov has aggravated this anger. Salah would be upset because he thinks that the Egyptian Football Association (which has chosen Grozny as a training center) has not offered him adequate protection and he wonders if Monday 's match against him. Saudi Arabia will be the last for Egypt. He is 26 years old.
The disciplinary proceedings arising from the game between Switzerland and Serbia, however, pose a more difficult problem for FIFA. Xhaka, Shaqiri and Lichtsteiner – three of Switzerland's top players – could both face a two-game suspension if their goal celebrations are ruled by political acts, which could exclude them from Costa Rica on Wednesday.
Switzerland's victory over Serbia gave them four points in two games, as did the group's leader, Brazil. Serbia is only one point behind with three, so a reduced list of Switzerland could directly affect who advance to the next round. If Serbia beats Brazil and Switzerland loses to Costa Rica, the Serbs could overtake Switzerland.
"In football, you have emotions," Shaqiri said in his short media appearance after the match. "You can see what I did. It was just an emotion."
The Serbs, however, were enraged. Kokeza, the president of the federation, called the move "scandalous and shameful" and he and Krstajic both accused FIFA and German referee of the match, Felix Brych, of anti-Serb bias because of the way the match was officiated.
"I do not expect FIFA to take steps to ensure that this brutal robbery does not happen again" Kokeza told the BBC. "I repeat, everything was headed."
But it was the gesture that continued to be the subject of discussions on the match.
"When the Albanians show this to the Serbs, it's essentially" You were punked by the Albanians, "said Jelena Subotic, a professor of political science at Georgia State University." These Albanian players are doing this to annoy the Serbs , while they play for Switzerland. Switzerland does not have any beef in this battle. "
Others have pointed to another hand gesture that has not yet been punished: the three-fingered Serbian salute, considered a nationalist symbol. Serbia captain Aleksandar Kolarov made the save after scoring the winning goal in Serbia's 1-0 defeat against Costa Rica.
Three-fingered salvation is considered particularly provocative by Croats, Bosniacs and Kosovars, but is increasingly common in sports. The Serbian tennis champion, Novak Djokovic, shows him regularly after victories, although this is not necessarily a sign of extremist views.
"This has become a sign of a more normalized and standardized routine of Serbian victory over time," said Subotic. "To the extent that most athletes use it without digging deep into nationalistic fantasies, but instead show a lack of sensitivity and understanding for why, for many others, it is a symbol Serbian supremacy and violence. "
Switzerland, meanwhile, is satisfied with the victory. The tabloid newspaper Blick, who criticized Shaqiri in the past for a perceived breakdown in loyalties, urged his readers to send photos of themselves doing their own greeting with both hands.
Rory Smith reported from Samara, Russia.
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