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| Kaiser Franz - political with a small 'p' |
FIFA Executive Committee member Franz Beckenbauer was one of 100 prominent Germans who signed an open letter to the Iranian government appealing for the release of two German journalists arrested in October for interviewing the son of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, who was sentenced to death by stoning for adultery.
The Kaiser’s not exactly chaining himself to the embassy gates, and he’s due to step down from the Committee soon in any case, and no doubt he is signing the letter as an individual first, and as a member of the FIFA ExCom not at all. Nonetheless, let’s be thankful for the tiniest sign: it is possible for a FIFA functionary to express a view on a human rights issue that doesn’t relate directly to football.
