FIFA and almost every soccer governing body try to evade any politics from the game, and that is why whenever something like a political protest happens on the field, governing body punishes the responsible. In London Olympics, Jongwoo Park, South Korea player celebrated his team’s bronze medal by displaying a banner bearing “Dokdo is our territory.” More importantly, South Korea defeated Japan to win its medal, and it has been a decades old dispute between two countries over Dokdo. So, it was taken as a prohibited protest whereby FIFA and IOC banned the player for two matches and reminded Korean Football Associated “of its obligation to properly instruct its players.” Additionally, player has also been slapped with 3,500 Swiss francs fine for warming diplomatic spat between two countries. However, during the disciplinary proceedings against him, he said that the banner was not brought in by him; perhaps he picked up a thrown banner from the crowd. Even then, FIFA found it in violation … [Read more...]