Yesterday’s #SRBSUI game saw Switzerland progress to the last 16 of #Qatar2022 by defeating Serbia 3-2. Unfortunately, however, and unfortunately as expected, the game turned heated and ugly. Once again, it was politics not play, that defined the encounter on and off the pitch.🧵 The game had history. A lot of history. Maybe even too much history, considering they only played each other once before at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Read @JamesPiotr article in the @nytimes, you'll find no better: nytimes.com/2018/06/22/spo…

This is going to be a long thread. With the successful qualification for the #WorldCup semifinal it seems that now everyone is interested in & an expert on #Cro politics, nationalism and football. Since I've been studying that nexus for years, let me point out a few things /1 Nationalist gestures by players & fans, the president in a full-on checkered outfit celebrating with players, a public debate over #Subasic’s “ethnic background", a divisive media discourse & all of that while the #Cro “Golden Generation” has been playing some decent football /2