FIFA Should Not Be Afraid of God

Just recently, I was reading the Black Attack column on Goal.com. I found an interesting article titled Black Attack: FIFA Worried About God.

As most football fans know, there are plenty of footballers in this world who are not afraid of showing their love for God. Some of these players are Brazil's Lucio and Kaka and South Africa's Steven Pienaar. All of these players have confessed that they belong to Jesus—most significantly, Kaka, who is known for doing this consistently, especially after winning tournaments such as the UEFA Champions League and the FIFA Confederations Cup.

However, FIFA apparently doesn't like this. Stated in the Black Attack article was an interesting bit of news: Football's world governing body has issued a rule that celebrations must strictly be limited to "human, not divine."

All this means basically is that players cannot take off or raise—or anything to that effect—their shirts to reveal an undershirt that confesses their belief or love for God. 

Neither can they wear a shirt like this during celebrations.

There can be many reasons for this. One reason could be that FIFA doesn't want it to seem that only people helped by divine forces can win. FIFA probably wants to show youngsters that hard work and perseverance are the main ways to success. 

Another reason could be that FIFA doesn't want these demonstrations to offend people or players who are atheists. 

However, this rule is definitely prejudicial against Christian soccer players—or those of any other religion. It is true that these demonstrations might offend atheists; however, this rule definitely offends people who observe a religion and follow or play the sport. 

And what happened to freedom of speech and expression? These players should be allowed to express their joy! Kaka clearly finds joy in scoring, but he definitely finds joy in praising God for letting him score a decisive goal.

He's confessed that his favorite book is the Bible. I know plenty of Christians who would say that the Bible is definitely not their favorite book. He loves to spread the Gospel. 

These people should be allowed to express themselves. And Lucio and Kaka and other players have found creative ways to get the Word out, one being through their work that reaches millions on TV every weekend—and will definitely reach people during the World Cup. 

Also, this does not hold implications just for Christians. This involves other religions as well. Many teams that confess to be Islam openly show their enthusiasm for their religion when they score a goal. These teams include Algeria and Egypt—who, sadly, won't be in the World Cup. 

Displays of God should be allowed at this World Cup—and every other one in the future. These sorts of displays do not ruin the beauty of the game, but rather enhance it. They add another dimension to the game's joy, happiness, and celebration. 

These displays show how people from all parts of the world, no matter what race or religion, can come together and peacefully—most of the time—play a game of football.