Popular events like the Football World Cup and other international sporting occasions are essential in easing international tensions and releasing patriotic emotions in a safe way. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

It is argued that international sporting events are likely to contribute to mitigating tense relationship between countries and,

furthermore

, expressing patriotic feelings without harming each other. To the best of my knowledge,

such

an assessment is overtly short-sighted. Vice versa, those wide-spread competitions more often than not may even cause ethnic clashes.

To begin

with, the Football World Cup or other sporting events may not be capable to influence the enhancing relationship between enemy states. How can one imagine a peaceful competition between the Jew and Arab footballers, providing the world has faced continuous cruel war between these nations throughout the

last

century till the present? Admittedly,

such

a meeting may have disastrous consequences for both sides and the audience as well. The most salient example of

this

is the Ministry of Sport of Armenia which refused to take part in the competition of weightlifting as long as it would be held in Azerbaijan, taking into account the enemy relationship between two states and predicting the possible clashes during the event. Apart from the aforementioned argument, nobody would deny that an impressive number of individuals pay much attention to the victories and the quantity of gained medals by their country.

Therefore

, providing the referee makes a tiny mistake or the opponent team acts dishonestly,

then

it may lead to protests and even fighting.

Hence

, to some extent, patriotic feelings are likely to become a source of serious conflicts among various nations.

For instance

, during Winter Olimpic Games in Sochi more than 200 fans were arrested for creating a conflict situation at the stadium. In conclusion, international sport occasions may not possess the capability to enhance the bonds between states and they can foster the possibility of serious force actions

as a result

of patriotic emotions.