Political football in Vancouver

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Sport has long been a bridge and catalyst for nations of opposing political, ideological, cultural and ethnic values to get together, despite all differences. Back in 1971, a game between United States and China at the World Table Tennis Championships became known as ping pong diplomacy, and a precursor to 1972’s historic meeting between US President Richard Nixon and China’s Chairman Mao. Most politicians are only too eager to jump on the bandwagon and wave their national flag in the sports arena, but the scandal-plagued and veracity-challenged prime minister of Canada has his cleats mired in a mountain of doggy doo-doo from the soccer pitch these days.

A football World Cup warm-up game between 38th-ranked Canada and Iran, who are ranked 21st, was scheduled before a sell-out crowd of 50,000 at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver on June 5. Then the prime minister began flapping his injury-prone jaws, claiming the fixture was insensitive for Canadians following the events of January 2020 in Tehran, when Iran launched ballistic missiles aimed at US bases in Iraq. It was in retaliation for the assassination of a top Iranian general by a US drone attack at the Imam Khomeini International Airport, and one of Iran’s rockets had reportedly mistaken Ukrainian International Airlines flight 752 for an incoming US missile on the radar. The plane was shot down in Iranian airspace shortly after take-off, with 176 fatalities, including 138 being either Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Iranian origin.

Following the PM’s controversial words, the friendly football international was abruptly cancelled, and Vancouver’s mayor immediately suggested that Iran be replaced by Ukraine’s football team for the World Cup warm-up. As he’s up for re-election very soon, and Ukraine is everybody’s international BFF since the Russian invasion, his political intentions are as transparent as a pane of glass. However, there is an awful irony, in that, when Flight 752 took off, there were cancellations by Lufthansa, British Airways, Emirates Airlines, Air India, Singapore Airlines, Malaysian Airlines and other carriers who either stayed on the ground or diverted flights away from the combat zone. It stands to reason that whomever sanctioned the doomed Ukrainian plane for take-off in such precarious conditions bears a definite responsibility for the terrible fate of its passengers and crew, and that makes it an awful irony to suggest that ill-fated Ukraine should replace Iran for the beautiful game of football in Vancouver.

BERNIE SMITH

Parksville, BC

Canada