By Andrew Warshaw
July 27 – The millions of fans who tuned in across the globe to watch Saturday’s 2018 World Cup draw could have been forgiven for thinking everything in Russia’s garden was rosy.
The glitzy extravaganza in St Petersburg left no stone – or expense for that matter – unturned in terms of opulence and affluence. You didn’t need to be in the auditorium in the grounds of the majestic Konstantin Palace to get a feel for the occasion.
In front of an invited audience of 2,000 and around 94 million more watching in an estimated 170 countries, Sepp Blatter and Vladimir Putin indulged in a predictable love-in as they attempted to put their respective problems behind them: in Blatter’s case, FIFA’s ongoing corruption crisis; in Putin’s, international condemnation from human rights campaigners and western politicians over Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine.
Yet behind the glitz and the glamour, behind the back-slapping and bravado lay a menacing reality that the Russian authorities simply can’t sweep under the table.
The spectre of racism.
Twenty-four hours before the ceremony, Brazilian striker Hulk, who was supposed to have assisted with the draw, was pulled out for what organisers insisted were “purely sporting reasons” in order to play for his club Zenit St Petersburg. Yet just days earlier, Hulk pulled no punches when he declared that racism happens at “almost every game” in the Russian league and was a genuine threat to the World Cup.
Meanwhile, just as the finishing touches were being put to what was, by all accounts, a brilliantly organised affair, so Ghana condemned the “vile racist abuse” meted out to former Arsenal midfielder Emanuel Frimpong who was verbally insulted on the first day of this season’s Russian league. Frimpong was sent off for making a middle-finger gesture triggered, he claimed, by monkey chants to which the Russian authorities appear to have turned a blind eye.
Russia, of course, is by no means the only footballing country in Europe, primarily eastern Europe but not exclusively, experiencing sickening discrimination. Croatia is just as bad, if not worse. There are others too.
But instead of getting ultra-defensive in various public statements about being unfairly singled out, Russia’s World Cup organisers could instead have acknowledged the gravity of the problem and said they were taking the bull by the horns. “It doesn’t represent a dominant mindset of our society,” Russian organising committee head Alexei Sorokin insisted. “It’s just these outbreaks, and they’ve become more scarce now.”
Russia’s sports minister and FIFA executive committee member Vitaly Mutko, meanwhile, promised that “violators will not go unpunished” thanks to new match observers and toughened sanctions for racism.
But will that be enough? A scathing report earlier this year from the anti-discrimination group Football Against Racism in Europe (Fare) found more than 200 incidents of racist behaviour linked to Russian football over two seasons.
Piara Power, Fare’s executive director, said: “Apart from more players speaking out and more Russian clubs being sanctioned, there has been absolutely no discernable progress. The events of the past week have been badly handled by the Russian football authorities and the World Cup local organising committee in the way they have responded so defensively. People are asking more questions about racism in Russia than perhaps they were.”
Putin himself may have promised domestic and foreign players and fans would feel at home at a “grandiose international sporting festival” but the reality on the ground is somewhat different.
“This is an important moment for Russia,” said Powar. “Either they grasp the nettle, understand the damage this is doing to their image abroad and Russian football and say they are determined to deal with it, or they remain in denial. We don’t have a sense right now that the Russian authorities are at a place where we can foresee a step change.”
On a more positive front, Russia will not be dragging its feet as Brazil did before the last World Cup. Building work on all but one of the 12 venues due to stage matches is either complete or well under way, the exception being Kaliningrad. But organisers are confident work will be finished on schedule by the end of 2017. No wonder FIFA secretary-general Jerome Valcke seemed in such a relaxed mood when assessing preparations. Russia, unlike Brazil, will clearly not be needing a proverbial kick up the backside. Not in terms of infrastructure anyway.
But which teams will actually be there? The glittering draw itself – overseen for the last time by Valcke who says he intends to bow out with Blatter – produced several mouthwatering ties, not least newly-crowned Copa America champions Chile facing Brazil on the first South American matchday.
The standout tie in Europe is of course Spain against Italy. A World Cup without either or both of them doesn’t bear thinking about but with only one team from their group qualifying automatically, two momentous qualifying clashes are in prospect.
As usual there is the perennial Group of Death, with the Netherlands, France, Sweden and Bulgaria all bracketed together in Europe, while defending world champions Germany have a comfortable task after being matched with the Czech Republic, Northern Ireland and Norway.
Wales, very much the new kids on the block courtesy in large part to Gareth Bale, will never have a better chance to reach the finals while few ties will be more mouth-watering than England versus Scotland, international football’s oldest rivalry.
Once again England have got the luck of the draw and been treated relatively kindly. Once again they seem bound to breeze through. Manager Roy Hodgson was clearly delighted with the draw, one of the weakest of all the European groups. Whether he is still in charge by then could well depend on how England fare at Euro 2016 next summer.
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