Well the Argentinean Olympic advert that became news last
week has proved to be a bit of an own goal. As ever Kirchner championed this
latest swipe at British sovereignty over the islands. As ever laying claim to the islands with politically charged stunts. It does finish with a statement about veterans of the conflict, but fails to mention that it was a conflict that Argentina started. As provocative as the
advert is, it now looks like the athlete (Fernando Zylberberg) who features in
it, has been deselected from the Argentine team.
This will be a bit of an embarrassment to Kirchner having
made such a big deal of the advert by endorsing it. It will also be an embarrassment
to the Argentine government as they are always quick to condemn any British
publicity over the islands. Not only that but international politics should be
left out of sport and really goes against everything the Olympics stands for. Thankfully
even the Argentine Olympic Committee has distanced itself from the advert.
With the Olympics drawing ever closer it will be interesting
to see what else the Argentine government can come up with to highlight their
dispute over the sovereignty of the islands.