In the Stands at a World Cup, An Unlikely Fan

Thousands of rowdy fans are planning to head to Germany this summer for the 2006 World Cup. Well, maybe some calm ones will be there as well.

But even if the World Cup's motto is "A Time To Make Friends," there's one friend Germany doesn't have a plan for: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's president.

The Iranian team has qualified as one of the 32 teams in the World Cup, and Ahmadinejad is a rabid soccer fan. But Iran's nascent nuclear program has alienated a lot of the other guests to the Cup, and statements the president has made about the Holocaust may make the hosts -- well, uncomfortable.

The Iranian president, the Boston Globe reported this week, has made statements recently indicating that he believes the Holocaust never happened -- a touchy subject in a country that is still owning up to its tragic history. And Iran's first match is scheduled to take place in Nuremberg, site of Nazi rallies and, later, a set of historic war crimes trials.

But new German chancellor Angela Merkel will not 'uninvite' the Iranian president, hoping that he takes the high road and focuses on the game. Can sports unite the world in peace? We'll just have to wait and find out.