How much longer can sport survive the criminality of its rulers

The squawking sound around English football is nothing more than chickens on their way home to roost. It reached a natural and inevitable apotheosis in Moscow on Thames or if you prefer Londongrad yesterday at Stamford Bridge as the Saudis (81 beheaded over the weekend) played Russia. Listening to the opposing fans mocking each other about their respective fortunes with no apparent sense of self awareness only added to the delinquency. You can’t but wonder will the sport survive the criminality of its rulers for much longer.

But soccer is bigger than all these carpetbaggers we like to think and serves us up occasions like Madrid v Paris regularly. Time will tell. Anyway, back to the match and there’s no doubt the wily old Ancellotti outmanoeuvred his opponent even as he was like the Ukrainians hopelessly outgunned. He realised as I did me self that pocchetino made a mistake putting in Donarumma instead of his best keeper. For while the Italian has great potential his great flaw like many of his countrymen is he likes to smell himself and instead of clearing the ball and was caught out by the streetwise Benzema (a man lucky to avoid jail recently) who has poseurs like Donarumma for breakfast. Incidentally, note Everton’s fall since Ancellotti left. Anyway, just so as ye know, Liverpool can’t win it. Not top tier material. No centre forward. Salah is a scorer of great goals but is not a great goal scorer as we’ve seen in the last week. The others are no good. No, it’s between Munich,City and Madrid then Juve and Pool.

As for the the Quataris or is it the Emirates aka Paris well what would you say. One thing we know is the Sheik is not paying all that money to win Ligue1 and his behaviour after the match when he threatened the referee would see him banned for life in a properly regulated sport. But as I say, FIFA and the others have long since sold their souls where rules or morality are concerned. Anyway the latest is that as Ronaldo gives us all another demo of his magic the watching Tom Brady is inspired to return to the American gridiron. I’m sure the cheerleaders will be delighted.⚽️