Dnipro Dnipropetovsk’s Europa League final debut is in the record books, and despite the 3-2 loss to Spain’s Seville, its performance during the match showed that Europe, and not just its soccer, needs to refocus to include Ukraine.
Hundreds of Dnipro fans who could not afford the trip were awarded gifts of transportation and tickets by the club in order to get to the match. It was a chance for some of the people affected by Russia’s aggression to escape, albeit briefly, to cheer for their countrymen and lift their spirits.
The pro-Ukraine crowd in Warsaw, where the final was played, could be heard chanting and singing President Vladimir Putin’s “favorite” anthem – “Putin Kh—o!” This expression of solidarity with Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression – during one of the major European soccer events of the year that attracts millions of viewers worldwide – was a diplomatic slap to Russia with soccer as the medium.
The newspaper Vesti in Ukraine summarized: “That’s it, the end of a fairy tale for good and brave Dnipro – overcoming major difficulties and obstacles while closing in on their goal. It ended not the way millions of Ukrainians had hoped, but the Dnipryani still received their round of applause after the final whistle. They were praised for their performance not only in the final but in Europa League as a whole. Dnipro enjoyed their best European season despite the loss to Seville and there’s nothing you can really do when you meet a team with so much European experience.”
In contrast, Russia had used the Olympics in Sochi to chest-thump the “normalcy” of Russian expansionist ideas, and then staged an invasion of Crimea during the Paralympic Games.
It is during times such as this that soccer is more than just a sport, as we’ve seen in the past and we continue to see with the latest FIFA scandal that saw the firing of seven of its top officials.
Russia’s chances of hosting the 2018 World Cup and Qatar’s in 2022 are now even more questionable, considering the widespread suspicion of corruption in the selection process. UEFA president Michel Plantini has called on FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who was set to be elected to his fifth term as FIFA president at its congress on May 29 in Zurich, to resign “for the good of FIFA.” The UEFA president went as far as suggesting a possible exit of the European governing soccer body from FIFA, with more commentary expected after the UEFA Champions League final in Berlin on June 6. UEFA has also called for a postponement of the FIFA elections, which has met with opposition.
Lennart Johansson, former UEFA president, said the decisions to award World Cups to Russia and Qatar must now be reviewed in light of the latest corruption allegations. Mr. Johansson has suggested that England (which put in a competing bid for 2018) could possibly host the 2018 World Cup, inasmuch as the country has not hosted the World Cup since 1966. Mr. Putin blamed the U.S., saying it was meddling in FIFA’s affairs in an attempt to take the 2018 World Cup away from Russia. Meanwhile, Swiss prosecutors are investigating how the 2018 World Cup was awarded to Russia and the 2022 tournament to Qatar.
And there’s more bad news for FIFA. The U.S. has initiated investigative proceedings against 18 others involved in alleged corruption in FIFA matters. FIFA’s corporate sponsors are also threatening to pull out by 2022, including credit card giant Visa. (Prior to Visa being a sponsor, Mastercard had held the contract. FIFA paid $90 million to Mastercard to settle a New York case that criticized FIFA’s business ethics.)
Who would have thought that FIFA would have its corruption exposed during this critical time? May it be a sign that Mr. Putin and all those who feel immune from legal standards cannot continue forever unchecked. Yes, Mr. Putin, the 2018 World Cup will be played, but perhaps not in Russia.