they think it’s all over
Silence speaks volume. By my lack of comment on the current World Cup many of you will have no doubt gathered that I’m not that bothered by it all. Overpaid, cheating narcissists pretty much does it for me. Having said that, I can’t deny that there was that usual frisson of underlying excitement prior to the tournament’s kick-off and if you’d had told me then that England would perform every bit as admirably as Spain, I’d have snapped your proverbial hand-off. And that’s exactly what happened! In short, England struggled to play as a team, continued to perform with no real understanding of the modern quick-passing midfield-centric game, and appeared to lack any coherent or tangible philosophy. As was always.
Even without our involvement, it seemed by all accounts an OK event, albeit with the referee of the first match doing everything in his power to ensure Brazil beat Croatia, with more goals than ever (136 in the group stages) and some truly thrilling play from both expected (Germany) and unexpected sources (Columbia, Costa Rica). And then it all went pear-shaped. Or teeth shaped.
When Liverpool bought Luis Suarez from Ajax three years ago, his registration documents reportedly arrived with a handwritten note bearing the ominous message “Good Luck”. He came with ‘previous’ – headbutting a referee at 16 and biting an opponent whilst at the Dutch club – and quickly showed nothing had changed – racially abusing Patrice Evra and receiving a ten week ban for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic. It should have come as no surprise to anyone, when in the 79th minute of a tense encounter with Italy, he sank his incisors into Giorgio Chiellini’s shoulder. Hey presto, a four month ban, a £66,000 fine and a £75,000,000 sale to Barcelona. Go figure the final two when you have a mo. Oh, and don’t let’s forget his initial denial of the event, followed by such a mealy mouthed ‘confession/apology’ that only could have been bettered by a thieving MP.
The whole incident is proof, if any further proof were needed, that morality is irrelevant in football. All that matters is money and goals. As an aside, I read a great article on one of Fifa’s most acclaimed referee’s, Byron Moreno, who refereed Italy’s 2002 controversial defeat against hosts South Korea: after a series of howlers in that game he quickly retired, making a fresh start as an international drug mule. In 2010, he was arrested at New York’s JFK in possession of five kilograms of pure heroin. That’s the calibre of those in Fifa’s employ!
