India’s Captain Refuses Olympic Torch in Protest Against China

It’s not often that footballers take a political stance. Do you know how Wayne Rooney feels about the hybrid embryonic stem cell debate in the UK for example? Course you don’t. He probably doesn’t either.

But Bhaichung Bhutia, captain of the Indian national team, is making his feelings known. He’s refused an invitation to carry the Olympic torch on it’s journey through India towards China, in protest against China’s violent crackdown on Tibetan monks.

You may not have heard of Bhutia, so here’s a clip of him scoring for Mohun Bagan in the I-League:

Bhutia is humble enough to realize his protest probably won’t change much, but wants to take a stand in “my own small way.” Good on him. Bhutia might also be interested to know that “The Forbiddens,” Tibet’s non-FIFA recognized national team will be touring Europe this month.