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More than a game Politics overshadows Greenland's win over Tibet
Politics overshadowed the amateur match, which took place in defiance of Chinese diplomatic efforts to have it stopped and the refusal of the Danish Football Association (DBU) to cooperate with the arrangement. In front of a crowd of 5,100 spectators, including locally resident Greenlanders and Tibetan refugees, Tibet took the lead in the first few minutes with a powerful shot from Lobo. Greenlander Leon Geisler equalized before half time. In the second half, the Greenlanders took complete control of the match with a goal by Niels Laursen followed by two from Ole Rasmussen. "As a football match, the game was not up to much but it was fun with flag-waving Greenlanders in the crowd along with refugees from Tibet," a radio commentator said. "The tempo was fast but the football was lower division stuff. Greenland totally dominated the second half." There were no incidents on or off the field. Dane Michael Nybrandt, who worked on arranging the match for almost a year, coached the exile Tibetans, mainly based in Britain, Germany and Switzerland, while former Danish national coach Sepp Piontek was at the helm of the Greenland team. Behind the scenes of this curious soccer match, a more serious political game was played, with China trying to stop the game, sources told Reuters. The DBU, which acknowledged it had been approached by the Chinese embassy in Copenhagen regarding the match, opposed the fixture. "We can all sympathize with the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people, but FIFA (world soccers governing body) regulations are absolutely clear on this issue," DBU information chief Lars Berendt said. "The 22 players obviously have the right to play their match but we had to reject their request for assistance as we must respect FIFA rules." Neither Greenland nor Tibet are members of FIFA, though Greenland is currently trying to gain DBU backing for a membership application to UEFA, European soccer's governing body. No pitch The ice-bound Arctic territory lacks one key qualification for UEFA membership -- a grass pitch. Greenlands Sports Federation fought to have the match against Tibet played in the face of fears of Chinese retaliation. Greenland, a Danish province enjoying limited home rule under Denmark, has a significant export of prawns to China. Thousands of Tibetans led by the Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959, nine years after the Chinese army entered Tibet and overthrew the Buddhist theocracy there. Last year, relations between Denmark and Beijing were strained over a visit to Copenhagen of Tibets exiled spiritual leader. The Chinese government urged Denmarks government to cancel its arrangements for a meeting between the Dalai Lama and Danish Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen to "allow bilateral relations to develop smoothly." In the event, Rasmussen met the Dalai Lama on May 21 for 45 minutes at Copenhagen International Airport and not in his own office where he usually receives foreign dignitaries. Along with other European Union member states, Denmark officially recognizes Tibet as a part of China. Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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