Politics and sport do not mesh. Unfortunately they have a way of colliding, the latest example of which is still unravelling in India. Teams do not want to travel there, while India refuses to travel to Pakistan. We look back on moments when sports and politics collided...

Real Madrid and Barcelona:

Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona both formed in the 1890s and were bitter rivals from the start, but it was only during and after the Spanish Civil War that the rivalry began to take on political overtones. When Spanish dictator Francisco Franco banned all peripheral languages, such as Catalan, the language of Barcelona, FC Barcelona obviously suffered as a result of being a part of the Catalonian culture. Real Madrid, however, was seen by many Spaniards — and Catalonians in particular — as the "establishment" club and an intense rivalry was fuelled further by the split. Although Franco seemed to favour Real Madrid, members of both teams suffered under his regime. The rivalry, however, shows no signs of slowing down...

Cricket World Cup, 2003:

Cricket has had its fair share of political problems, but the 2003 World Cup in South Africa came to a standstill with a number of political statements taking centre stage. First Zimbabwean players Andy Flower and Henry Olonga (a white and black man respectively) donned black armbands to "mourn the death of democracy in Zimbabwe"; then the English team, under pressure from home, refused to play in Zimbabwe — who were co-hosting the event — citing concerns over player safety; and finally New Zealand took the same route against Kenya. The decisions had massive ramifications for all the countries concerned with England and New Zealand failing to advance to the Super Six stage, while the Kenya and Zimbabwe advanced courtesy of the points they earned due to the boycotts...

The 'flour bomb' Test, Auckland

The Springbok tour of New Zealand in 1981 was fraught with political tension as the locals protested against Apartheid South Africa. New Zealand exploded as protesters and police clashed throughout the tour, but things came to a head during the final Test at Eden Park in Auckland. The Test would decide the series, and while security around the ground was tight, nobody anticipated an aerial assault. But Kiwis Marx Jones and Grant Cole provided arguably the most defining moment of the tour when they swooped over the ground in a hired airplane, dropping flour bombs and flares in an attempt to stop the game from taking place. All Blacks prop Gary Knight was hit with a flour bomb, but the game went ahead — the All Blacks won 25-22 — as all hell broke loose outside of the ground. The Boks did not tour New Zealand again until 1994...

India and Pakistan

Arguably the most politically-charged rivalry in the world of sports, the two cricketing superpowers of India and Pakistan have been at loggerheads for decades. Dating back to the partition of India in 1947, the root cause of the tensions between the two countries was the dispute surrounding the regions of Jammu and Kashmir, which are located between them. Unfortunately, the tension between the countries on a political front has too often spilled over into their cricket. Tours have been cancelled, boycotts have been threatened, and while tensions have thawed in recent times, the attacks in Mumbai have brought them bubbling back to the surface...

ICC Champions Trophy, 2008

The political instability in Pakistan has long been cause for concern, with a number of countries refusing to tour the country in the past. But things came to a head in 2008 when Pakistan lost the right to host the Champions Trophy because of security risks following a series of terror attacks this year. The loss in revenue was massive for Pakistan, who, as a result, have seen very little actual cricket of late. In 2008, Pakistan faced only Zimbabwe (Jan-Feb) and Bangladesh (April) at home — meaning plenty in lost revenue. They have since wrapped up a series victory over the self-imploding West Indies, but the series took place in Dubai, not Pakistan.

West Indies tour of SA, 1982-83; '83-84

One of a series of 'rebel' tours during South Africa's sporting isolation, the West Indies tour of SA was made up largely of understudies to the Windies team and players past their prime. But a team of black players touring Apartheid South Africa was never going to go down well on a global scale — regardless of how the locals, both black and white, reportedly responded to the team. They received a life ban from Caribbean cricket in 1983. The players were ostracised socially and professionally back home, and while the bans were lifted in 1989, the only tour member who played for West Indies again was Ezra Moseley.

Olympic Games, Munich, 1972

The 1972 Games, the second to be held in Germany, was supposed to show the world a new, democratic Germany — it was even dubbed 'The Happy Games'! The mood, however, was ruined when 11 Israeli athletes were killed by Palestinian terrorists. Eight Palestinians, belonging to the 'Black September' organisation, broke into the Olympic Village and took the Israeli athletes hostage in their apartment, killing two of the hostages on sight. The ensuing standoff in the Olympic Village lasted for 18 hours. The hostages were eventually transferred to a helicopter, but were killed when another Palestinian threw a hand grenade into the 'copter. The Games were temporarily suspended by the IOC, but IOC boss Avery Brundage called for the event to continue and it eventually resumed a day later.

Russia vs Hungary, Melbourne, 1975:

The water polo match between Hungary and Russia at the Mebourne Olympics in 1956, was played less than three weeks after Soviet troops invaded Hungary, so perhaps it was not so surprising that the game denigrated into mayhem. Fighting broke out so frequently that the match was called off — the match later being dubbed 'blood in the water'. Riot police were even called in to ensure that the fighting did not spill out beyond the pool. The Hungarians, who were 4-0 ahead at the time the game was called off, went on to defeat Yugoslavia in the final. Half of the Hungarian team went on to seek asylum and refused to return to Budapest. "We felt we were playing not just for ourselves but for every Hungarian. This game was the only way we could fight back," said Hungarian player Ervin Zardor after the match with Russia.

Australian Open, 2007

The Australian Open tennis tournament was thrown into turmoil in 2007 when rival fans from Serbia and Croatia clashed on the opening day of the tournament. A fight erupted as the rival fans traded insults outside a merchandise tent and the scene soon descended into mayhem as punches, bottles and beer cups were thrown. At least 40 police and security guards joined the fray. According to witnesses the stand-off began as a large group of Serbian supporters began chanting racist slogans at a crowd of Croats who were watching a match on Court Three.

Olympic Games, Moscow, 1980; Los Angeles, 1984:

The 1980 Games in the Soviet capital were disrupted due to a boycott led by the US after the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan by the USSR. Sixty-four other countries followed suit, despite the fact that the boycott went against one of the basic principles of the Olympics — that politics should play no part in them! The USSR, followed by allies Cuba and East-Germany returned the favour in 1984, blaming 'chauvinistic sentiments and an anti-Soviet hysteria being whipped up in the United States' for their boycott.

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