In the midst of so many problems caused by the pandemic, the postponed, European football championship (EURO 2020) came to relieve our daily routine, showing us past images of the future. That is, the return to one “Adjusted irrationality regularity” which politics has already successfully introduced in football!
writes o Christos Argyriou *
Politicians have used the world’s most popular sport as a pretext for starting wars. Two simple examples are the war between Honduras and El Salvador in 1969 called the “Football War” on the occasion of the match between them for the qualifiers of the 1970 World Cup in Mexico.
The second most recent example is that of the war in Yugoslavia, with occasion the game between the Belgrade Red Star and Dinamo Zagreb in 1990. I will not go into details, because in this article I will try to highlight the involvement of politics in the football it uses as a channel of communication, to the broad mass of the world.
Two great examples of this year’s Euro 2020 prove what I write. The first has to do with the Ukrainian national jersey.

It shows a map of the country, which includes the Crimean peninsula, which Russia considers its own territory. Protesting at UEFA, the only change was the removal of the slogan “Glory to the Heroes” because of its far-right, paramilitary origins (it is also associated with the Nazis by many). UEFA’s argument for keeping the map on the jersey was: “There is no problem with the map, since The international community recognizes Crimea as Ukrainian territory”.
The second example that we are directly interested in, is that of the jersey of f.YROM (if I am not subsidized by the state I can call them by the name they had) which states the FFM (Football Federation of Macedonia).

In the letter of protest, correctly issued by Mr. Dendias to his counterpart Mr. Osmani, the answer was, “H. Football Federation of Macedonia (FFM) is an independent and non-profit organization that is registered in the General Register as an association and therefore is not funded by the state. The Prespa Agreement refers to institutions that receive state subsidies. ” For the record, UEFA rejected our request.
My prediction, from 2017, for a change of borders in the West. Balkans came from the statement of the American Senator, Dana Rohrabacher (Reb.) Who had stated on an Albanian TV station (2017) that f.YROM is not a country and should be shared, showing the US thoughts on the region.
But what has changed from 2017 to 2021? The US government of course. President Biden with an “executive order” / (decree of June 2021) provides for sanctions for those who undermine or threaten conditions such as that of Prespa that preserve peace and territorial integrity in the West. Balkans. But whatever any President signs, he should know that just as there is a shadow economy, a parastate, there is also a parapolitical one. This is the real strategy that the United States wants in the West. Balkans or just reassure the international environment?
In the beginning I talked to you about “Adjusted regularity of irrationality”, we meet her here too. So who is violating the Prespa treaty in various ways? H f.YROM. Mr. Osmani, who is financing your Football Federation that you “christened” NGOs?
In conclusion, the neighboring country itself undermines the agreement, because, as the EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Mr. G. Hahn, said (20 October 2018), “We need political capacity, not party games.” Unfortunately, the party games and those who instigate them will continue to undermine the treaty and any hope for the utopian, as the Neighbor’s accession to the EU will prove.
* Christos Argyriou is an international scholar and collaborator of Stratfor

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