Players out of control

There are several proverbs and quotes out there that suggest that someone’s true character shines through when times are tough. The past few days suggest that you can find out things you did not want to know about footballers even when they’re on cloud number nine.

Argentina and Spain were the deserved champions of this summer’s Copa America and Euro 2024 respectively. But some of their players stirred controversy with their choice of chants to celebrate their achievement: Enzo Fernandez and a few others suggesting France’s team had too many ‘foreigners’, Rodri and Morata claiming Gibraltar as part of Spain. The latter stunt, which gained admirers among the Spanish far right, involved some who ply their trade in England, where opposition to British sovereignty over Gibraltar is viewed less favourably than Madrid’s Cibeles Square. Fernandez, another England-based player, has since apologised “for getting caught up in the euphoria” as he prepares to face disciplinary action at Chelsea.

A few days before the finals we heard from Toni Kroos who, now a retiree at age 34, seemed to suggest that he’s moving to Spain because ‘uncontrolled’ migration made his native Germany unsafe for his daughter. Too bad, as there too the local far-right thinks migration is out of control. German speakers quickly pointed out that Kroos’ words may have been lost in translation and that he just thinks Germany’s become a worse place to live, he supports welcoming migrants, but also thinks that it was ‘too uncontrolled.’

Kroos’ host said he was sorry that when stuff like this is said, “then people are quick to say, oh, oh, oh, that’s racist.” Unsurprisingly, that was the verdict many on social media passed on Kroos, with reminders that he once spoke up against the AfD and efforts to explain it all away going largely unnoticed.

The idea that migration is ‘uncontrolled’ is untrue. There are elaborate rules across Europe in place for who enters, who gets to stay, who gets detained and who gets deported. But for populists on the right wing of politics, it has been a very successful slogan to stir up fear and win votes. Take Britain for example, where the Leave campaign won with a promise to ‘take back control’ above photos of faraway borders. Austria is set to elect a far-right chancellor in a couple of months from a party that blames ‘uncontrolled mass migration’ for violence against women – echoing those claims about what it is that Kroos actually said in his interview.

Meanwhile, what seems to be out of control is racism in the sport, with Kick It Out reporting a 65.1% rise in reports of discriminatory behaviour last year, fuelled by a massive increase in online abuse. Football superstars echoing the slogans of the far-right at the very moment they’re celebrated by the world definitely does not help.