Football in a dirty war
Argentinian junta used 1978 World Cup to promote its regime

Belinda van Steijn
Radio Netherlands
Tuesday 24 November 2008

"I am convinced that the Argentinian junta hosted the Football World Championship in 1978 to cover up its crimes," says Nora Morales de Cortinas, spokeswoman for the 'Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo' in Argentina. She says this in response to the new book 'Football in a dirty war', which was published today.

The first copy was presented to Princess Maxima, wife of the next-in-line to the Dutch throne, Prince Willem-Alexander.

This choice of recipient for the first copy of the book was somewhat sensitive because at the time of the World Cup Maxima's father was a deputy minister in the Argentinian government and thus part of the infamous military regime.

Dirty war
In their book 'Football in a dirty war' Dutch authors Marcel Rözer and Iwan van Duren highlight the political and sporting aspects of the 1978 World Cup.

In spite of protests in the Netherlands, the Dutch team of the day travelled to the dictatorship and ended up playing Argentina in the final.

Iwan van Duren thinks, 30 years later, that the match should never have been played.

"The people who said at the time: people are being thrown out of helicopters, with their stomach cut open. People are disappearing. It was true. In fact we played football on the torture chambers. We thought it was very important to write the book for the sake of the victims and to learn from history."
Chinese Olympics

The last words of the book were put to paper during the Olympic Games in China this year.

According to the authors, we all know what is happening in Tibet and we all heard Erica Terpstra of the Dutch Olympic Committee say, "Sport has nothing to do with politics".

The authors believe you can reach people through sport, and that Argentina 1978 was a good example of what we neglected to do back then.

The Argentinian military regime benefited greatly from the championship according to the two authors.

Iwan van Duren says the organisation of the World Cup gave General Jorge Videla - the country's then dictator - the opportunity to promote his regime.

It enabled him to show that his regime was regarded as a 'normal one' by other countries.

It was also important to him that Argentina should win.

If the Netherlands had won the final, Argentina would have found itself in difficult times.

As it turned out, the host country won the match 3-1.

Awareness
When they were writing the book, the authors noticed that a period of growing awareness of its past has begun in Argentina.

Marcel Rözer says Argentina seems to be ready for reflection.

He draws a comparison with post-war Germany and how things such as a documentary on the persecution of the Jews shown on German television in the 1970's managed to shake the whole nation.

Mr Rözer says the same is happening now in Argentina.

This new awareness has even affected Argentina's striker at the time of the 1978 World Cup, Leopoldo Luque.

"It is good not to forget how people suffered because their family members disappeared. We the people, the Argentinians and the government are the ones who should make sure that this never happens again."

Earlier this week, the former striker said the World Cup should never have been played.

If he knew then what he knows now, he would never have played in the championships.

Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo
The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo demonstrated during the 1978 World Cup in Argentina.

They wanted to draw attention to the regime's practices and the disappearance of tens of thousands of people who opposed Videla's regime.

For that reason alone, says the Mothers' spokeswoman, Nora Morales de Cortiñas, it is important that Princess Maxima was the first to receive the book.

"I think it is very important, because she is from Argentina. She was little when this happened in Argentina. She probably knew nothing at all about what was going on and her family probably never talked about what was happening in the country."

Morales de Cortinas thinks that you cannot blame Princess Maxima for the deeds of her father.

A meeting with her father Jorge Zorreguieta would be a totally different matter, says the Plaza de Mayo mother.

She could never have done that.