Kicking up a fuss...

When football fans all around the world were sitting down on Sunday and turning their TVs on, they were almost certainly tuning in to watch the marquee fixture in the Premier League between Arsenal and Manchester City.

The sporting massacre that ensued was as great a spectacle for everybody not donning the Arsenal red and white as it was unsurprising given the differing levels the two clubs are competing at currently.

Two early strikes from Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling set the tone as Manchester City ran riot at the Emirates. The viewing of that particular fixture was not available in China. However, as it was removed and replaced by a rerun of the Wolves vs Tottenham game from earlier in the day following comments made by Arsenal player Mesut Ozil regarding the treatment of Uighar Muslims.

Ozil rose to prominence mainly for his great technical skills and ability to assist his teammates on the field but has come under a huge amount of criticism from Arsenal fans for his inability to be able to deliver upon this particularly in recent years. Personally, I think they are a bit too cynical. At the moment, Arsenal fans should want all games to be removed from TV completely and Ozil is simply just making a start on that. He’s doing it for them.

Arsenal distanced themselves from Ozil’s comments saying that they are an apolitical organisation. I can’t help but feel the money coming from China into the Premier League may have also played at least a small part in their rapid response time. It got me to thinking though, should athletes be more involved in politics, especially considering just how much power they wield and should their clubs be allowed to have any say in it?

I don’t mean that clubs should be involved in party politics per se, a world where both Aston Villa and West Ham have to try and work out who David Cameron actually supported or an Everton team taking to the field in full red to show their support would be a weird one.

Social issues though, in particular when commenting on injustice, have had much more of an effect and raise a considerable amount of awareness. I wrote in an article a few weeks back about Colin Kaepernick and his stand and whether or not you agreed with the way he went about it. It was undoubtedly big news and brought about a lot of talk surrounding the issue of unlawful killings by police officers.

Part of Muhammed Ali’s greatness was taking public political stances. He used his position of great fame and popularity to shine a light on injustice. It is why he is considered by many to be the greatest sportsman of all time. I remember LeBron James and his Miami heat teammates wearing the black hoodies as a tribute to Trayvon Martin and the effect that had on conversations both before and after the game, social topics were on people’s minds.

Athletes have a huge amount of sway and power at a time when so many politicians are not liked and not trustworthy. I believe there is a huge responsibility on them to be politically active and to point out what is going on, particularly when there is so much apathy.

I know that some hold the belief that politics and sport should remain separate but for me that is just an attempt to brush off having to actually deal with anything serious. I get that I am not in their position, it is not my career that I’m putting on the line and I also understand there can be repercussions with individuals who do not support or echo mainstream sentiment.

That being said, in 2014 when Russia enacted the anti-gay laws prior to the Sochi Winter games it was far too easy for athletes to just keep their head down and not comment on the issue. There is nothing that brings people together in the way that sport does and solidarity is exactly what is needed when facing social injustice.

For a man who is accused of going missing on the field, I’m glad Ozil hasn’t gone missing off it. I hope other athletes find their voices on any of the many issues the world has to offer.