西方醞釀抵制年俄羅斯世界盃

Could boycotting the 2018 World Cup prove more effective at persuading Russian president Vladimir Putin than an increasingly long list of economic sanctions? For the first time since the Ukraine crisis began nine months ago, EU diplomats are actively considering the idea.

要說服俄羅斯總統弗拉基米爾•普京(Vladimir Putin)，抵制2018年世界盃足球賽(World Cup)會不會比越來越長的經濟制裁清單更有效？自烏克蘭危機在9個月前爆發以來，歐盟(EU)外交官第一次積極考慮這個想法。

According to an options paper circulated in European capitals yesterday, the EU is considering whether to recommend suspending Russia from “high-profile international cultural, economic or sporting events” including Formula One races, European football competitions and the next World Cup, awarded in 2010 to Russia.

根據在歐洲各國首都傳閱的一份選項文件，歐盟正在考慮是否推薦暫停俄羅斯參與或者舉辦“引人注目的國際文化、經濟或者體育活動”，包括F1(Formula One)賽車、歐洲的足球比賽以及俄羅斯在2010年贏得主辦權的下一屆世界盃。

Diplomats said a boycott of the World Cup would not be among new sanctions to be agreed by the end of the week. But during a meeting of EU ambassadors on Monday,

外交官們表示，本週即將商定的新制裁措施不會包含抵制世界盃。不過，在週一舉行的歐盟大使會議上，有幾個成員國的代表團（尤其是愛沙尼亞和立陶宛）

several delegations, particularly Estonia and Lithuania, showed great enthusiasm for the idea. According to the options paper, “thought could also be given to taking co-ordinated action” on a sporting ban once new sanctions are decided.

對這個想法表現出極大熱情。根據上述選項文件，一旦決定新的制裁，“也可以考慮採取協同行動”實施體育禁賽。

“This kind of discussion is timely, as we do not see goodwill from the Russian side,” said a Latvian diplomat.

“這種討論是適時的，因爲我們沒有看到俄方的善意，”一名拉脫維亞外交官說。

After the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the US led a boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, setting a precedent for using international sporting events as a proxy for geopolitical brinkmanship. Four years later, the Soviets retaliated, leading an Eastern bloc boycott of the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.

1979年蘇聯入侵阿富汗後，美國帶頭抵制1980年莫斯科奧運會，開啓利用國際體育賽事爲地緣政治博弈手段之先河。4年後，蘇聯採取了報復行動，帶領東歐國家對1984年洛杉磯奧運會進行了聯合抵制。

“Boycotting a prestigious international sports event has a distinctively Cold War feel to it,” said Mujtaba Rahman, head of European analysis at the Eurasia Group risk consultancy. “This will sting the Russians far more than anything the EU will do on finance this round.”

“抵制一項富有聲望的國際體育賽事明顯帶有一種冷戰的意味，”風險諮詢公司歐亞集團(Eurasia Group)歐洲分析主管穆傑塔巴•拉赫曼(Mujtaba Rahman)說，“這對俄羅斯人造成的刺激將遠遠超過歐盟這一輪制裁的金融打擊力度。”

Fifa said it stood by a statement made in response to the downing of flight MH17 in July that hosting the World Cup “can be a powerful catalyst for constructive dialogue between people and governments”.

國際足聯(FIFA)表示，依然支持7月份馬航MH17航班被擊落後其做出的聲明，即舉辦世界盃“可以作爲促使各國人民和政府開展建設性對話的強大催化劑”。

The recommended economic sanctions to be debated by the European Commission today before being sent to national capitals for approval by the end of the week would expand the ban on Russian companies accessing European capital markets, currently limited to Russia’s large state-owned banks, to the country’s defence and government-owned energy groups.

今天歐盟委員會(European Commission)將圍繞推薦的經濟制裁措施展開辯論，本週晚些時候這些制裁措施將提交給各國首都審批。這次的經濟制裁措施將擴大針對俄羅斯企業進入歐洲資本市場的禁令範圍，目前這項禁令僅限於俄羅斯的大型國有銀行、該國軍工集團和國有控股的能源集團。