The impact of Iraq’s heated political crises — which have taken on a sectarian dimension — is no longer limited to political circles and the popular protests seen in the squares of some Iraqi cities. It has reached sports stadiums as well, notably those of soccer, a popular sport in Iraq.

The media wars between supporters of various Iraqi teams — particularly between those representing Iraq’s three Kurdish provinces (Erbil, Dohuk and Sulaymaniyah) and the rest of Iraq’s teams — was once limited to waving Kurdish flags instead of Iraqi flags and vice versa. However, the dispute has now devolved to the level of attacking political figures and leaders with whom the teams are associated, in a bid to provoke players and negatively influence their emotional state.

The delicacy of the situation has reached the level where Erbil SC, the champion of the Iraqi Premier League, threatened to withdraw from the league’s championship due to discriminatory sectarian chants made by fans in the stadium. This most recently occurred on March 14, 2013, during the game against Al Quwa Al Jawiya club, as noted in a statement issued by the club’s management.

The statement reads: “Following the game with Al Quwa Al Jawiya, the incidents that took place — when fans attacked the coach and players and made discriminatory and sectarian chants against our club, which negatively impacted coach Radan Casanin and his assistant Dalibor — and after deliberating with circles affiliated with soccer, the club has decided not to play matches in the Iraqi provinces in order to ensure its safety, given that neither security nor control are present in our sports stadiums.