As Iran prepares to play diplomatic arch-rivals the US in the World Cup today, AFP looks at how geopolitics have spilled onto the pitch in previous World Cups:
Mussolini’s ‘Blackshirts’: France v Italy, 1938
Just a year before World War II broke out, defending champions Italy arrived in France with politics taking center stage in their clash with the hosts.
Photo: AFP 照片:法新社
Championed by Italy’s then-leader, fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, the team were booed when they came onto the pitch at the stadium near Paris.
Undeterred, the Italians gave the fascist salute to the crowd and played in black shirts, a nod to the uniform worn by Mussolini’s notorious “Blackshirts” militia.
Italy won the clash 3-1 and went on to win the competition.
Photo: AFP 照片:法新社
Cold War battle: East Germany v West Germany, 1974
It would be the only game at international level between the two national teams during the period when Germany was divided from 1949 to 1990.
Billed as the “battle of the brothers” and at the height of the Cold War, tensions were so high that the traditional shirt-swapping at the end of the match was banned.
With fears of terrorist activities, the match was categorized as high risk and armed squads were positioned around the stadium.
East Germany, playing in their first World Cup, pulled off a sensational 1-0 win, though things soon returned to script, with West Germany winning the tournament.
Maradona’s moment: England v Argentina, 1986
This highly charged clash took place in Mexico four years after Argentina’s defeat to Britain in the Falklands War.
To the joy of their fans, Argentina took symbolic revenge, winning the quarter-final 2-1 with Diego Maradona scoring twice. His first goal was the infamous “Hand of God” goal, in which he punched the ball past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton. Then a superb solo effort dubbed the goal of the century sealed victory.
“It was a final for us. It was not about winning a match, it was about eliminating the English,” Maradona said.
Say it with flowers: Iran v USA, 1998
Peace, not war, was behind the pre-kick-off niceties between the US and Iran at the 1998 World Cup.
The match, billed as one of the most politically charged in the game’s history, began with a gesture of reconciliation from Iran’s players, gifting bouquets of white roses to their US opponents.
Since the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran and the US have been at loggerheads.
The goodwill did not last long, however, as Iran famously stunned the Americans, beating them 2-1 and knocking them out of the World Cup.
An eagle lands: Switzerland v Serbia, 2018
This clash caused a huge outcry in Serbia after two Swiss players of Albanian origins (Kosovo and Labnai) celebrated their goals with a two-handed eagle gesture to mimic the black eagle in Albania’s flag, considered by Serbia as a nationalist provocation.
The double eagle symbol is viewed as a symbol of defiance in Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008 in a move Serbia refuses to recognise.
Granit Xhaka, who was born in Kosovo, made the gesture after he scored Switzerland’s first goal, and Xherdan Shaqiri repeated it following his last-gasp winner that clinched a 2-1 victory.
FIFA fined the players, although they escaped a ban.
(AFP)
伊朗準備在今天的世界盃足球賽跟外交宿敵美國交手,法新社檢視過去的世足賽,看看地緣政治如何蔓延到球場上:
墨索里尼的「黑衫軍」:法國對義大利,1938年
就在第二次世界大戰爆發前一年,衛冕者義大利隊抵達法國,在與主辦國的衝突中,政治佔據了中心位置。
義大利隊受當時義大利領導人、法西斯獨裁者貝尼托‧墨索里尼所支持,他們在巴黎近郊的球場上場時,被喝倒采。
義大利隊沒被嚇倒,向群眾行了法西斯式的敬禮,並身穿黑衣出賽,這是向墨索里尼臭名昭著的「黑衫軍」民兵制服致敬。
義大利以3-1擊敗法國,且之後贏得了冠軍。
冷戰:東德對西德,1974年
這是德國 1949 年至 1990 年分裂期間,兩支國家隊間唯一一次在國際級的比賽中交鋒。
被稱為「兄弟之戰」的這場比賽正值冷戰高峰期,局勢如此緊張,因而在比賽結束時交換球衣的傳統被禁止。
由於擔心恐怖活動,這場比賽被歸類為高風險,體育場周圍還部署了武裝小隊。
第一次打進世界盃的東德,以1-0擊敗西德,造成轟動,但事情很快又回歸預期,西德在該屆世足賽奪冠。
馬拉度納的時刻:英格蘭對阿根廷,1986年
這場發生在墨西哥的激烈衝突,是阿根廷在福克蘭戰爭敗給英國四年後。
令阿根廷球迷欣喜的是,阿根廷隊進行了象徵性的報復,在八強賽中以2-1擊敗英格蘭,迪亞哥‧馬拉度納進了兩球。他的第一個進球便是聲名狼藉的「上帝之手」進球──他用手擊球,讓球越過英格蘭守門員彼得‧希爾頓。隨後,被稱為世紀進球的馬拉度納絕妙個人秀讓阿根廷勝券在握。
「這對我們來說就是決賽。我們不是為了贏得一場比賽,而是為了淘汰英格蘭人」,馬拉度納說。
用鮮花表述:伊朗對美國,1998年
和平,而非戰爭,是 1998 年世界盃開賽前美國與伊朗間微妙關係的背景。
這場被稱為足球史上最具政治色彩的比賽之一,以伊朗球員的和解姿態拉開序幕──他們將一束白玫瑰送給美國對手。
自 1979 年伊朗伊斯蘭革命以來,伊朗和美國一直不和。
然而,這種善意並沒有持續多久,因為眾所周知,伊朗以 2-1 擊敗美國,把他們踢出了世界盃。
老鷹降臨:瑞士對塞爾維亞,2018年
衝突的起因,是兩名阿爾巴尼亞裔(科索沃和拉布奈)的瑞士球員在進球後,以兩手做出老鷹的手勢模仿阿爾巴尼亞國旗上的黑鷹慶祝,這在塞爾維亞引起了強烈抗議,因塞爾維亞認為這是一種民族主義挑釁。
雙鷹符號在科索沃被視為反抗的象徵,該國於2008年宣布獨立,而塞爾維亞拒絕承認科索沃的獨立。
出生在科索沃的格蘭尼特‧扎卡在為瑞士隊踢進第一球後做了這手勢,而傑爾丹‧沙奇里在他最後的致勝球以 2-1 獲勝後重複了這個手勢。
國際足總對這些球員處以罰款,雖然他們躲過了禁令。
(台北時報林俐凱編譯)
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