The World Cup and the Beautiful Game With an Ugly Side

The prospect of people from all over the world coming to different cities would excite most people. There would be the opportunity to learn about new dances, new music, new food, all the while enjoying a fun game. But the rollout from FIFA, the organizing body behind the World Cup, has exposed the inherent biases towards certain players and people from their country, with FIFA doing little to help curb those biases.

While many abroad have enjoyed traveling to the US for the World Cup, others, particularly Black and brown people, have been caught in the crosshairs of Trump’s cruel, racist anti-immigrant agenda. People like Somali referee Omar Artan was denied entry into the United States – and when asked to provide a reason –the US Border and Customs Protection only cited, “vetting concerns,”

When it comes to the players, many of them have been subjected to humiliating and invasive searches. If this is what highly paid players and referees have been subjected to, who have many privileges and play as representatives of their country, then it is safe to say that regular people such as you and I and our loved ones may be confronted by the discriminatory practices of ICE agents. If you do attend a game, make sure to learn what your rights are and how to use them..