Is an athlete just an athlete?

Israel may be one of Malaysia's trade partners, but its sportsmen just can't seem to get into this country.

COMMENT

Israel is a touchy subject in Malaysia. As a majority Muslim country, Malaysia’s sympathies lie on the Palestinian side of the conflict happening in Israel and Palestine. And rightly so. While Israel was largely protected by the sentiments of the older generations, the Internet has made available an astonishing amount of information regarding abuses of power and human rights by Tel Aviv and the tide of public opinion is beginning to sour on the so-called Chosen People.

Israel’s excesses in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank have truly been horrific and it is no wonder that our Muslim friends are up in arms over the issue, although to an almost singular degree. That singularity of purpose was seen throughout 2015, as different terrorist attacks around the globe by ISIS saw Muslims pointing to the plight of the Palestinians and the hardships of the Syrians on social media. This is not to say they were unjustified. The media is wont to give more coverage on an act of violence in France than a similar one in Syria.

But that is a much longer story, and we really should be getting back into context. Recently, headlines have pointed out the difficulty involved in getting visas for Israeli athletes scheduled to compete in world tournaments held in Malaysia. Whether we like it or not, this is going to be a question we need to answer as a society as Malaysia increases its participation in global activities.

It is perhaps appropriate to mention here that Israel happens to be one of Malaysia’s trading partners.

Be that as it may, should sportsmen be seen as just sportsmen and be allowed to compete regardless of their place of origin? The conventional answer would be “yes” because the spirit of sportsmanship demands that everyone get a fair shot to prove himself on the field. But the reality is that people are very fond of their prejudices, and many international sporting events have seen instances of racism or nationalistic chauvinism from the spectators despite the best efforts of their governing bodies to squash such behaviour.

Should the athletes be granted visas despite being Israeli, they would face hostile crowds here and may even be subject to harassment from those infuriated that “the enemy” has set foot on Malaysian soil. But then there are athletes who have competed through similar conditions, and unless the harassment extends to physical harassment, the worst possible outcome is the slight embarrassment of the host nation.

But here we come to a fundamental issue. As many of these competitions are world tournaments, some participants have unreservedly earned their right to compete and be called the best in the world. Sportsmen train hard and dedicate countless hours to their craft, and competing is the culmination of that effort. If we consider the athletes as individuals, it would be wrong to deny them the right to compete, a right they have earned. And it would be a slight on the sport.

On the other hand, athletes in these tournaments represent their countries, and who knows how an Israeli victory on Malaysian soil would be received.

However, as Malaysia advances as a member of the international community, it is inevitable that sports tournaments held here will see the participation of controversial elements. Say Malaysia is one day given the privilege of hosting the Olympics. Would not such an event see Israel competing and some Israelis following the national team to Malaysia to support it throughout the tournament?

So do we tarnish the beautiful game by disqualifying someone due to his place of origin? We will have to decide as a society if sports and sportsmen can be seen as separate from the nations they represent and if that is acceptable to us.