THE new Formula 1 season is hours away from revving up their engines and there has already been some controversy stemming the Bahrain Institute for Rights Democracy calling for the FIA, motorsport’s worldwide governing body not to “sportswash the blood-soaked images” of the races held in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
And to think that FIA’s new president Mohammed Ben Sulayem recently introduced a rule in December of 2022 that banned drivers from making political, religious and personal statements.
That has been clarified to “making statements before and after races.”
This comes months after many groups also accused FIFA of the same during the recent Qatar World Cup.
Do I think that the FIA and FIFA are sportswashing the abuses and state crimes by allowing the staging of world class sporting events on the soil of countries accused of malfeasance?
Yes, I do.
But that extends to many many sporting events—big and small—around the world. China alone has much to answer for their repression of the Uyghurs, Tibet, and bullying other countries, and yet, I have always wondered why many sporting events are held there.
The answer is simple—they pay loads of money to host.
Let’s take a look at local sports. How many sports federations have local government officials on their board? And yet, they use their patronage to further their political ambitions that it is so sickening.
All you have to look at is when athletes who compete on the international level bring glory, what follows is the ubiquitous photo op with all these self-serving government officials.
Of course, they can be fans too. But come on, we were not born yesterday. And where do they get all this fund to fund anyway? Is it theirs or are these from the taxes and pork barrel allocations? Why do they act like they have so much money?
Even this mall conglomerate that has all sorts of anti-labor practices has learned the art of using sports and entertainment to deflect any blame or accusations hurled their way.
Having said this—and this is merely the tip of the iceberg that will sink democratic principles—this has been going on for centuries.
Didn’t the Roman Emperors use the Colosseum to distract the masses?
Unfortunately, everything runs on money. And oil. So sports governing bodies have no choice but to accept the patronage.
As I have said and written many times over, this is the result of playing politics and accepting money. The moment you play that game—and here I will crib that line from the Eagles’ classic “Hotel California”—you can check out any time you like but you can never leave.
So no, the Grand Prix races will continue to be held in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. The World Cup, the Olympics and these other huge sporting events will go on in China, Russia (well at least not recently), and other countries with all the human rights, exploitation, or even terrorist acts committed.
It is the blindness men wish for. And that is a shame.