Politics and Sport: a Bristol Tale

Today has been a day of politics and sport in my home city of Bristol.

I started the day by listening to a talk by Tim Dobson from Woodlands Church on Reaching your City. Tim argued that for the church to reach its city, it had to be actively involved across all the spheres of city life, a dynamic presence in the heart of politics, sport, the arts, education, rather than acting as a separate entity alongside them.

Later that day, having failed to get tickets for the sell-out match, I was listening on the radio to the last Bristol Rovers game of the season. If other results went their way, and if Rovers won the match (against already relegated Dagenham and Redbridge), then the Bristol side would win automatic promotion to League One of the Football League. Glorious as that would be, even more magnificent was the prospect of securing promotion for the second season in a row - a feat never before achieved by Bristol Rovers. 

Meanwhile, in the minutes before kick-off, as Rovers made their final preparations for their vital end-of-season encounter, the results of Bristol's mayoral election were trickling through. Second-choice votes were being counted, but it looked to informed observers as if Labour Party candidate Marvin Rees had won the contest, replacing incumbent Independent Mayor George Ferguson who had been elected in 2012. As Lee Brown tapped in the 92nd-minute goal which secured Rovers' promotion,  the results of the Mayoral election had been confirmed. The Gas were going up; Marvin Rees was Bristol's new elected mayor.  

After Marvin's unsuccessful attempt at becoming elected Mayor in 2012, he was interviewed by Andy Flannagan of Christians on the Left about the intersection between his Christian faith and his political vocation. Rees cites the biblical idea of the Year of Jubilee - the releasing of debts and the proclaiming of liberty - as the overarching narrative that defines his understanding of his own politics. 

Meanwhile, wandering down the Gloucester Road after the match, which was heaving with the blue and white shirts of thousands of Rovers fans, I saw some of the uglier side of our city's life. A Muslim women, fully veiled in a Niqab and with a young daughter and a baby in a pushchair, was waiting at a bus stop as hundreds of the fans streamed past, many spilling onto the busy road, cheering and shouting. Several white men, middle-aged, bald headed, flashed Nazi salutes as they marched past the family. The sight of such hostility and prejudice was shocking, but gave me an insight into what may be a semi-regular feature of life for some of our Muslim neighbours in a society where racism and Islamophobia seem to be on the rise.    

In the pre-match build up, I saw this clip about Bristol Rovers chaplain Dave Jeal. His story of transformation from football hooligan to football chaplain is an inspiring tale of restoration. He now serves as the chaplain at the stadium from which he was once banned. 

#Pray4TheGas @alidurdenBBC meets @DaveJeal the man who's praying more than most for @Official_BRFC's promotionhttps://t.co/CWTZMkGopI

— BBC Points West (@bbcpointswest) May 6, 2016

I think Tim Dobson was correct. The church has much still to do to be be present, prayerful and authentic in our witness to God's kingdom, a reality which still has the answers to the real issues in our city. 

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The Hajj Tragedy, Victim Blaming and the Gospel of the Kingdom

Of the many tragedies our world has suffered in 2015, the death of over 700 pilgrims at the annual Hajj in Saudi Arabia must be one of the most pitiful. The idea of hundreds of devout worshippers, having saved their hard-earned money to pay for this once-in-a-lifetime event, being crushed to death at a time which should have been at the pinnacle of their religious faith journey, is a true tragedy.

  

Along with the death of thousands of migrants in the Mediterranean this summer, and the desperate experience of those affected by the Ebola outbreak in recent years in west Africa, the Hajj calamity is a human tragedy on a grand scale.

With tragedies come recriminations. Reports suggest that some Hajj pilgrims are blaming the Saudi police and authorities for the stampede in Mina. Saudi spokesmen, meanwhile, are reported as blaming African pilgrims for not following instructions. Iran is blaming the Saudi Royal Family.  

When faced with a tragedy in his own lifetime, the mainstream view confronting Jesus of Nazareth appeared to be that the victims themselves were to blame for what happened.  Jesus responded to this popular assumption by analysing the self-righteous motives of his contemporaries who were not directly affected by the tragedy, and turned their complacency upon themselves by warning them of their own impending doom. 

"Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” (Luke 13:4)

Although fewer in number, the victims of the Siloam rower collapse were also the objects of criticism by the self-righteous of Jesus' day. The world-view of the critics is not difficult to detect: a high view of God's sovereignty, meaning that all that happens does so ultimately by the permissive or directive will of God, and a covenant theology which saw unfaithfulness to God resulting in judgement, combined to interpret the death of these 18 as the result of their morally dubious state.

Victim blaming today seeps through much of the analysis of contemporary human tragedies. It is implicit in the European Union's decision in 2014 to not support Italy's Mare Nostrum operation, rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean. The claim was that such a humanitarian initiative would act as a "pull factor" in emboldening migrants to board unseaworthy vessels and attempt the perilous crossing from the north African coat to Italy or Malta.  Victim blaming was present in the Sun newspaper's coverage of the Hillsborough tragedy - an editorial decision for which it has publicly apologised. 

The focus of Jesus' few words on this Siloam tragedy is not on explaining "the problem of evil" in abstract, philosophical terms. Nor does he align himself with those who cast aspersions upon the victims. Instead, he turns the tables and points to those of us who would pass judgement:

"Unless you repent, you too will all perish."

It is highly unlikely that the words of Jesus were intended to predict further tower collapses or similar calamities. Rather, his focus is on something much worse.

To "perish", in its New Testament usage , often means to come under the judgement of God - in this age and the one to come. The apostle Paul, for instance, is quite willing to distinguish between "those who are perishing" and "us who are being saved." (1 Corinthians 1:19) and elsewhere describes those who "perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved." (2 Thessalonians 2:10)

Evidently, the Son of God saw it as imperative that people "repent" of sinful patterns of thought, attitude and action. This theme of repentance is present, implicitly or explicitly, throughout the gospels and other New Testament writings.

The tragedies of the Hajj, of tsunamis and of plagues are not to become opportunities for hard-hearted self-righteousness, but occasions to express sorrow and sympathy with the victims, their families and their communities. They also provide a stark opportunity to examine ourselves by asking some uncomfortable questions: have I repented? Am I to perish?

For those who embark on such a process of self-examination, the words of the gospel truly come as good news:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. " (John 3:16-17)

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BBC Sport - Football - Fifa officials 'offer to sell 2018 World Cup bid votes'

Image by Downing Street via Flickr

BBC Sport - Football - Fifa officials 'offer to sell 2018 World Cup bid votes'

I'm afraid that this story does not come as a great surprise.

The vast amounts of money involved in the professional game, combined with what appears to the outsider as a lack of transparency and accountability inside FIFA, the sport's governing body, make stories like this almost inevitable.

That's quite apart from the fact that human beings are often greedy, dishonest and corrupt.

How about a return to amateurism across all sports?

Related articles

• World Cup 2018 bidding process in turmoil as Fifa officials offer to 'sell' votes for cash (telegraph.co.uk)
• FIFA Looks Into Bribery in World Cup Vote Claims (nytimes.com)

Jacob Zuma on the World Cup, Family, Government and the Role of the Church in Society

South African President Jacob Zuma was interviewed at God First Church in Johannesburg on Father's Day.

Thanks to Matt Hosier for the link.

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Football Then and Now

Watching the BBC's DVD of the 1966 World Cup final last night (it's only a few weeks till this year's tournament after all), I noticed a few differences in the beautiful game back then compared to now:

1. generally played at a slower pace
2. tackles appeared less severe, though,
3. taking out the goalie seemed more acceptable
   
4. no advertising hoardings
5. no black players on the pitch
6. less sophisticated commentary/analysis
7. film of the Duke of Edinburgh having a ciggie
8. free kicks taken more quickly

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Being Franck

If Chelsea FC wanted to do something really cool, they could do a lot worse than drop any interest they may have in signing French footballer Franck Ribery.

The Bayern Munich striker stands accused of having sex with an under-age prostitute, an offence that carries a maximum of three years in prison.

With an estimated 1.3 million children trafficked annually, many of them into the sex industry, a decision by Chelsea to take a stand against this form of child abuse would send a positive signal that show that they value something more than money or winning matches.

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Rich Follies

Three stories which caught my eye this week - no doubt because they were all placed on the same page on The Metro in an attempt to convey the message that many rich people are, in fact, capable of stupid acts.

The message clearly got through to me. Here are the stories, all involving cars:

• Ronaldo, aged 23 and earning £120,000 a week, wrote off his brand new Ferrari while driving it for the first time to the Manchester United training ground. He crashed the £200,000 car into a crash barrier.
• Rugby international Mike Tindall was banned from driving for three years and fined £500 for driving while over the legal limit. Tindall was pulled over in March 2008 as his Range Rover Sport was seen swerving on the M4 near Newbury.
  
• Princess Beatrice, fifth in line to the throne, had her £17,000 BMW stolen from central London. Word from the parking space is that the car was left unlocked with the keys in the ignition.

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Paul Ince - Not a Role Model

I first heard it said a few weeks ago on Radio Five Live and it annoyed me then.

Paul Ince's career should not have anything to do with whether black managers "make it" in the Premiership in the future.

This idea that Ince in some way represents black managers (current or future) is a nasty piece of racism, a throwback to the United States after the Civil War when emancipated black slaves were told by white elites that they had to act in a way that "proved" to the white majority that they could become sucessful professionals and law abiding citizens.

No-one applies this insidious logic to managers of any other nationality. It rests on the unspoken assumption that black men "can't" and then invites individuals to prove the assumption wrong.

Nasty business.

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Handing it to Ronaldo

I laughed out loud when Sir Alex Ferguson claimed that Christiano Ronaldo was "protecting his face" when he held two hands up and steered the ball into the net during yesterday's Manchester derby.

Take a look at the video. Why didn't the talented Maderian use the top part of his head instead of his hands?

I know managers like to publicly stand by their players, but surely there comes a point when doing so merely makes the club look ridiculous.

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Ole Gunnar Solskjær Visits Schools in Angola

Former Manchester United striker and UNICEF Norway Goodwill Ambassador Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has this week been visiting Angola to witness and lend his support to the educational reconstruction work being undertaken in the southern African country. His trip took him to Bengo province in the north of the country to a couple of schools hoping to install sanitation and water systems for the first time.

The next day the footballer visited schools in the capital, Luanda where he saw the practical benefits that simple sanitation can make to improve health and save lives by preventing waterborne diseases.

The UN General Assembly has designated 2008 the Year of Sanitation in an attempt to increase the pace towards the UN Millennium Goal of halving the number of people worldwide who do not have access to a clean and safe toilet. At present, the total number is 2.6 billion - nearly half of the world's population.

Awkwardness and a reluctance to talk about sanitation is one factor contributing to low funding for this area of development. As the film Liquid Gold shows, however, changes made in this area can result in dramatic improvements in local communities.

Photo copyright UNICEF 2008.








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Thoughts on Fabio Capello

Yes, he's been a successful manager.

No, he won't be pushed about by the media.

Etc, etc.

The missing piece in the appointment of Fabio Capello as England coach, however, is the promised "root and branch" review of what has gone wrong with the national team. The appointment of Mr Capello, 21 days after the sacking of Steve McClaren, hardly seems to have allowed time for the weeds to be pruned, let alone the roots to be examined and treated.

Here we go again.

Notes on Alisher Usmanov

Craig Murray has recently posted a controversial piece on the Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov who has his sights set on Arsenal FC.

Worth a read - though you may have to be quick as Mr Usmanov's lawyers have, allegedly, written to several web hosting companies demanding that the item (written by the U K's former ambassador to Uzbekistan) be removed.

On the subject of Uzbekistan, Transparency International's 2006 Corruptions Perception Index places the former Soviet Republic at 151 (of 163) for institutional corruption in the world, alongside such luminaries of sound governance as Myanmar and Haiti. Finland, Iceland and New Zealand are listed as the top three least corrupt countries in the world.

Colin Moffat Loses His Objectivity

Writing on the BBC sport website, BBC reporter Colin Moffat wrote the following about the attack made by a Celtic fan on AC Milan keeper Dida during tonight's Champions League match:

"...the home team could be in hot water with Uefa, although the Brazilian appeared to suffer little more than a cheeky slap."

Is it really acceptable for a journalist to write of a potentially life-threatening incident in such flippant terms?

A football player who is confronted on the field of play by an angry fan is in a very vulnerable position. He does not know whether he will be punched, knocked unconscious or stabbed, nor why the stewards have allowed this person onto the pitch.

Describing this incident as "a cheeky slap" can only lend oblique acceptance to a practice that has no place in the modern game or in a civilized society.

In my view, Celtic should suffer loss for this incident and Mr Moffat should be more careful with his words.

Andranik Teymourian

Football fans around the world have been surprised to see Iranian international footballer (now playing with Bolton Wanderers) Andranik Teymourian routinely crossing himself as he leaves the field of play.

The only non-Moslem player in the Iran national team, Teymourian is from the country's small Armenian minority who are historically Orthodox Christians.

Iranian Christians have historically been members of this ethnic-religious minority or of ethnic Greek ancestry. In recent years, increasing numbers of Iranians have become born-again Christians. Many are asylum seekers living in Western Europe and are from a Moslem background. A previous post illustrates this trend.

The existing ethnic-Christian minorities are tolerated in Iran. Conversion from Islam, however, is a criminal offense punishable by long prison sentences or death. Issa Motamedi Mojdehi (pictured) is one such convert, currently awaiting charges related to his conversion 7 years ago. Despite imprisonment and death threats to his family, he remains committed to his Christian faith.