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UK compares 2018 WC with Hitler's Olympics

Last Updated 21 March 2018, 18:33 IST

The UK government, on Wednesday, drew a comparison between Russia hosting the football World Cup 2018 and Adolf Hitler using the 1936 Olympics to glorify his Nazi ideology in Germany.

Foreign secretary Boris Johnson was giving evidence to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on the escalating diplomatic row with Moscow over the poisoning of a former Russian spy with a deadly nerve agent.

He agreed with one of the members of the committee on a comparison between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the former German dictator.

"Putin is going to use it [World Cup] the way Hitler used the 1936 Olympics. The idea of Putin using this as a PR exercise to gloss over the brutal, corrupt regime for which he's responsible, fills me with horror," Labour MP Ian Austin said during the committee hearing.

"I think the comparison with 1936 is certainly right and frankly, I think it is an emetic (repulsive) prospect to think of Putin glorying in this sporting event" Johnson replied.

However, when Austin suggested the UK should consider boycotting the tournament, scheduled for June-July, over safety concerns for British fans, the minister disagreed.

It would be wrong to ban the England team and fans from attending the tournament but there could be risks for those going to Russia this summer, Johnson said.

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(Published 21 March 2018, 18:00 IST)

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