What explanation do UEFA and CAF have for preventing sympathy gestures related to current tragedies? What is the purpose of having football and humanity separated? In the space of 24 hours, two independent decisions were made by the European and African football ruling bodies regarding human causes, and the outcome suggested one thing… That with such a heartless philosophy, football is turning into a disgraceful profession. After Barcelona defender Eric Abidal was diagnosed with liver tumor, Real Madrid and Lyon players planned to wear t-shirts sympathizing with the Frenchman, only for UEFA to say no! In a rare coincidence, CAF followed the trend hours later by refusing a gesture proposed by Ahli, in tribute to the January 25 Revolution victims and the thousands who lost their lives in the devastating Japan tsunami. The match supervisor replied to the Egyptian club's request by saying that ‘such political issues are not related to sports'…in cold blood. The question is; what harm would such friendly gestures inflict by any means? Is this what they call professionalism? Being professional entails primary focus on the job, but does not mean being isolated from the world, nor becoming dispassionate towards people. Footballers are no puppets and supporters are surely not just machines cheering their team and waiting for the ball to go into the back of the net. "I think it' horrible," Barcelona and Spain star Xavi said when asked about UEFA's decision to ban the planned Abidal t-shirts. "It seems very inhumane. "If they have vetoed such a thing, it seems wrong. There are things more important than football: Life. Sometimes we prioritize things that have nothing to do with the most important thing." This brings us back to CAF's stance when Mohamed Abou-Treika flashed a ‘Sympathize with Gaza' shirt after scoring against Sudan in a CAN 2008 group-stage game. The African football governing body considered it a ‘political slogan', eventually warning the Egypt talisman, who was only showing support to the suffering people. It is understood that politics has little space in a popular sport like football, but caring about people would certainly take nothing away from the passion of the game.
