By Louisa Gavin

The controversies in sport regarding politics are becoming more prominent as time goes on. Whether it’s taking the knee for BLM, Jesse Owens proving a point to Hitler or the exclusion of Russia in certain sports. Athletes now have a sense of duty to stand up for what they believe in, like every other person in society.

People in the UK, for the majority, feel only one way about this. In a survey carried out in 2024 by YouGov, a staggering 74% of Brits are against athletes chanting political slogans. Along with this, the survey also stated that 71% of Brits believe athletes should not visibly be allowed to wear clothing or accessories with political messages.

On a positive note, the influence that athletes have on the public can enable positive change. In 2020, former Manchester United winger Marcus Rashford was “committed to the cause” and campaigned to the government to provide free school meals for children. At this time, around 200,000 children were missing out on meals in the UK. So, he created an online petition to take it to the then Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The petition received over 1 million signatures and enabled the UK government to provide £396 million for free school meals across the UK. Marcus was brought up in food poverty and wanted to ensure other kids didn’t have to go through what he did. More than 15,000 meals were served to children on the first day of half term which is a considerable help for those less fortunate.

*Marcus Rashford by Catherine Ivill -AMA from Getty Images*

On the other side of the coin, athletes and coaches alike can be reprimanded for choosing to speak out for what they believe. Former Aston Villa and Mainz winger Anwar El Ghazi had his contract at the German side terminated after speaking out on the Israel-Gaza conflict. The 29-year-old Netherlands international and Muslim was released by Mainz on November 2nd, 2024. This was after the player shared a series of Pro-Palestinian posts and shared also his opinion on the conflict. El Ghazi later took the club to court under a wrongful dismissal complaint, and the court has since ruled that the players contract was “wrongfully terminated.” He is still owed around £1.4 million in wages.

In terms of involving politics in sports, if a message needs put across or actions need to be taken, athletes will take it upon themselves to have political movements. In 2018, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was fined £20,000 by the FA for wearing a political message. For context, he wore a yellow ribbon that the FA misjudged. He stated that he was wearing the ribbon to represent pro-independence politicians who have been imprisoned. Sports personalities who are in the spotlight are normal people just like anyone else. The argument is that if fans can express beliefs, so too those with a large following and influence should be able to as well.

Across the sporting world, there will continue to be strong political statements made. Some may not be especially warm to it, but as long as controversial things keep happening on this planet, politics being involved in sports is here to stay.

Rashford's lunch regime