“The president’s speech was a clear interference of politics in sports, which surprised us a lot,” said the president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), Aleksander Čeferin, in June 2019.
According to the AP, Aleksander Čeferin criticized French President Emmanuel Macron, who said at the opening of the Women’s World Cup that the Champions League should not become a closed elite club of the richest clubs, as planned for 2024 by some at UEFA.
Čeferin responded that this is direct political interference in sport and is therefore unacceptable. “We will not allow politics to tell us how to behave in sports,” he added.
So, Aleksander Čeferin says that politics should not interfere in sports. What about the other way around? That sport interferes in politics? By the logic of things and UEFA rules, it shouldn’t. But Čeferin obviously doesn’t care about that.
In June this year, Čeferin praised the footballers who take political positions, the First Sport portal reported. He said UEFA’s attempts to curb racism were “not enough”. Which means that Čeferin is satisfied if footballers publicly express their political and ideological opinions.
Aleksander Čeferin has proven to be a big hypocrite. When some politician criticizes the conduct of the UEFA, he immediately reacts angrily, saying that the politician must not do that and that they will not allow it. On the other hand, he encourages athletes to take political positions. He himself is interfering in politics, which has become apparent in recent months when he has criticized the center-right government of Janez Janša and the alleged »political attacks« on the judiciary and the media. With this, he directly interfered in the daily politics of his home country – Slovenia. And the latest information shows that he is also involved in attempts to violently overthrow the government of Janez Janša.
Janja Strah
