If stadiums begin to be closed because of racist chanting then that could bring about the end of abuse for players in grounds at leastAt the end of last week the bookmaker Paddy Power published a tweet which contrasted the £10,000 fine given by the Football Association to Millwall in August for their fans’ racist chanting with the £50,000 fine imposed on Huddersfield Town for wearing an oversized sponsor’s logo on their kit in a pre-season friendly. I retweeted it, suggesting that Millwall’s minuscule fine would make no impact on the behaviour of fans at a club already synonymous with racism.What followed was a barrage of personal abuse from Millwall fans, some insisting I was unfair to suggest they all...
Choosing to stage Euro 2020 in 12 different countries is a decision that seems to be lacking in common senseImagine a series of outline maps spanning England, Europe and, perhaps even, the world. They feature clearly highlighted contours and country boundaries but the neatly printed place names which customarily adorn atlases and globes are missing.It is safe to assume that, asked to fill in the blanks and pinpoint specific towns and cities, a lot of people might make some embarrassingly bad guesses. But what price football fans proving the geographically literate exceptions? Related: Euro 2020 qualifying roundup: Spain cling on, Italy rally and Pukki scores Related: Harry Kane hits hat-trick in England’s demolition of blundering Bulgaria Continue reading...
Demise is another warning that huge social value of clubs cannot beat the cold, hard edges of a free marketA good day to bury Bury. The swell of public sympathy at Bury FC’s expulsion from the English Football League was tangible on Wednesday morning. And yet, as ever with Big Football, the wheels will continue to grind on.Thursday will bring the Champions League draw, with further details of how Europe’s club elite plan to divvy up the season’s £2bn revenue. Friday promises more news on a potential mega‑move for the house of Neymar, with the proposed £135m transfer to Barcelona playing itself out up to deadline day. Beyond that, the Premier League fixture list will continue to fill the skies...
World football’s governing body does not seem to have got any cleaner, it’s just that everything else has got significantly dirtierI’m so glad that sporticidal Fifa president Gianni Infantino got to enjoy his second-term victory speech two weeks ago entirely free of spoilers. “Nobody talks about crisis at Fifa any more or rebuilding it from scratch,” he announced from the stage. “Nobody talks about scandals or corruption – we talk about football. We can say that we’ve turned the situation around. This organisation has gone from being toxic, almost criminal, to being what it should be – an organisation that develops football and is now synonymous with transparency, integrity.”Mmm. Following the detention of former Uefa boss Michel Platini on Tuesday,...
The world’s highest-paid union official promised a review in November but it appears to be moving at a glacial paceI don’t know the Latin for “look busy and it’ll die down” – but whatever it is, it could do with being carved above the lintel of the Professional Footballers’ Association’s office in Manchester.This is the stronghold of the organisation’s chief executive Gordon Taylor, who has been in charge for just the 40 years so far. That is slightly shy of someone like Cameroonian dictator Paul Biya, who has notched up 43 years of tireless service to his subjects. But as far as comparisons with other bosses in the humanitarian sector are concerned, there’s really no one to remotely touch him...