Should international sport events be boycotted on political grounds?

[Admiral Yi]

That was my understanding as well, though in place of Western oriented I would say anti-Russian.

[Martinus]

I don't get the argument of "you shouldn't mix politics with sports".

They're only sports.  22 men kicking a little ball around.  Why the hell shouldn't sports be subject to politics?

I'm all for sports boycotts.  I think in this particular case it's an excellent way of putting pressure on the Ukrainian government.

The problem is that in this case a boycott just plays into Russia's hands. Timoshenko was a Russian crony and a boycott at this time will simply mean Ukraine gets pushed further into Russian hands.

Not to mention, I think the whole debacle is just an excuse for the countries who are against Ukrainian EU accession to score a few points.

I have no doubt Timoshenko is somewhat crooked - she is a Ukrainian politician after all.  But everythign I've read had Timoshenko and Yuschenko as being more western-oriented, while Yanukovich was more Russian-oriented.  Now since taking power Yanukovich has on the one hand being playing the role of an eastern european authoritarian very well, he has been cautious about getting too close to Russia.

But the entire case against Timoshenko has been a blatant political process throughout.

Timoshenko and Yuschenko are sworn enemies - Yuschenko testified against her during her trial, and he actually was the first (while still in power) of accusing her of treason/doing exactly what she was sentenced for (i.e. giving too much to Russia in gas supply deals). So this is more complicated than that.

[Barrister]

I don't get the argument of "you shouldn't mix politics with sports".

They're only sports.  22 men kicking a little ball around.  Why the hell shouldn't sports be subject to politics?

I'm all for sports boycotts.  I think in this particular case it's an excellent way of putting pressure on the Ukrainian government.

The problem is that in this case a boycott just plays into Russia's hands. Timoshenko was a Russian crony and a boycott at this time will simply mean Ukraine gets pushed further into Russian hands.

Not to mention, I think the whole debacle is just an excuse for the countries who are against Ukrainian EU accession to score a few points.

I have no doubt Timoshenko is somewhat crooked - she is a Ukrainian politician after all.  But everythign I've read had Timoshenko and Yuschenko as being more western-oriented, while Yanukovich was more Russian-oriented.  Now since taking power Yanukovich has on the one hand being playing the role of an eastern european authoritarian very well, he has been cautious about getting too close to Russia.

But the entire case against Timoshenko has been a blatant political process throughout.

Timoshenko and Yuschenko are sworn enemies - Yuschenko testified against her during her trial, and he actually was the first (while still in power) of accusing her of treason/doing exactly what she was sentenced for (i.e. giving too much to Russia in gas supply deals). So this is more complicated than that.

Yes, I knew that Timoshenko and Yuschenko were one time semi-allies, and now sworn enemies.

[MadImmortalMan]

I have no doubt Timoshenko is somewhat crooked

Wasn't she the one in charge when they stole Europe's gas supply coming out of Russia because the Russians wouldn't sell them any?

[dps]

Thinking about it I reckon we all have more or less arbitrary lines which we feel that government should not cross. For me it makes sense that our government prevents us from selling weapons or nuclear technology to Iran. Banning all trade I'm not so sure about. Preventing British citizens from visiting Iran to kick a ball about seems a step too far to me. There is a spectrum of restrictions here and people will favour different positions on that spectrum. In general, I feel that nowadays government pokes and pries far too much into matters that should be the province of other areas of society, such as the individual, family, sporting association etc etc

I don't really disagree with most of that, with the caveat that I would have to say that different degrees of "interference" are reasonable depending on the exact nature of the regime being boycotted.   And I have very little faith in the ability of Western governments to find the "correct" degree in any given situation.

[Tonitrus]

If we can go to a Nazi Olympics...we can go anywhere.

[crazy canuck]

I am all for cutting Poland from the world wide web.

[Neil]

Yes.  The cricket and rugby boycotts of South Africa were right.

  Wrong.

But it should be up for sporting bodies politicians not politicians.

Don't you think your statement here is a little absurd?

[sbr]

When it comes to soccer, rugby, cricket and other assorted Euro-sillyness they should all be boycotted by everyone, from fans to coaches to players and organizing committees.

Also

[CountDeMoney]

God, I love that photo.