Mihir Bose's Blog, page 49

Why Spurs supporters chanting yids devalue sport

I entirely take the point my colleague Andrew Warshaw has made that Spurs fans, "have for years used chants like "yid" and "Yid Army" not as term of abuse but exactly the opposite: as a badge of honour, of identity, of pride, of endearment."

However I disagree with him that the chanting is now acceptable. Don't get me wrong. I am not saying such shouts are racist but they damage sport and drag society back to a less welcome age. But before I proceed further let me explain where I come from.

Stuart Broad expects personal battles to resume Down Under

Stuart Broad’s ability to produce moments of high drama is well documented: six wickets in 45 balls to win the Fourth Test at Durham and the Ashes series; and three wickets for two runs in six balls last Saturday to give Nottinghamshire their first Cup in 24 years are just two from a long list.

But I was not expecting drama off the field when I met him at Lord’s. As the PR man reassured me I could ask Broad any question I liked, he was called away by an England and Wales Cricket Board official. He returned after almost a quarter of an hour to tell me in very hushed tones that there was one subject I could not raise with Broad: that of the England players urinating on the Kia Oval pitch while celebrating their Ashes win. If I did, I was warned, Broad would be instructed not to answer.

Why the debate about the Qatar World Cup should be on wider issues

The battle to move the 2022 Qatar World Cup is developing into quite a classic. However, like many such football debates, it is being conducted on false premises.

The argument being presented is that it cannot be moved to winter because it would mean the original terms under which the bidding took place were wrong. It is assumed that when Qatar won the bid back in 2010 they and their rivals competed in a competition where they signed a document saying the tournament would be held in the summer. So if it is moved now, the terms of the contest have been violated and this would mean either FIFA pays compensation to the bidders that lost or it reopens the whole contest. This, argue critics, is only fair.

Anthony Joshua: Pro fights are entertainment but going for gold is pressure

Anthony Joshua is still three weeks from his ­professional debut but the Olympic super heavyweight champion already knows where he wants to end up. In the ring, another Muhammad Ali, out of it, David Beckham.

Sitting in his promoter Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom offices in Essex, Joshua has just been telling me how, while learning to box in a Finchley gym, he watched a lot of Mike Tyson. But he quickly adds: “I am not going to be Tyson. I’m going to be completely different.”

Will Platini use his nuclear bomb?

Sometime later this month Michel Platini will tell his fellow UEFA bigwigs, gathered in in Dubrovnik, Croatia's capital of charm, whether he wants to be President of FIFA. For years the Frenchman has insisted he would never enter a contest against Sepp Blatter. And until recently the confident expectation was that he would not have to. After all, has not Blatter declared that he will not stand again, once his present term finishes.

So it should be all neat and tidy. In 2015 Blatter finally leaves FIFA House and Platini, the man who Blatter had brought into football politics, helped make head of European football, stands, wins easily and then makes the short journey from Nyon to Zurich to be crowned king.

David Bernstein: Our teams are well organised but we need creativity

David Bernstein cannot hide his regret that he is no longer chairman of the Football Association. We are meeting in a London hotel just as England are flying to Kiev for tonight’s World Cup qualifier with Ukraine and Bernstein says with real feeling: “It would have been nice to be with them. But you must ask the FA Council why I am not there.”

This is a pained reference to the FA Council refusing to amend their rules which force FA chairman to stand down when they reach 70.

‘Who says England can’t win in Brazil?’ – David Bernstein

David Bernstein is confident that not only will England get to Brazil for next summer’s World Cup but could return home with it.

Bernstein’s successor as Football Association chairman, Greg Dyke, effectively wrote off England’s chances last week when he said they were not realistic contenders.

From Beckham to Bale, a tale of two transfer eras

Gareth Bale may be the first British galectico that Real Madrid have signed since David Beckham in 2003, but the differences between the two transfers shows how the world of football has moved on in the last decade. In a sense there has been a revolution in the way transfers are done and mega million transfers of high profile players have truly come of age.

It shows how much more skilful agents are, how a chairman like Daniel Levy, for all the brickbats he gets, can mould things to his own liking, even when the club he is pushing is Real Madrid, and that Real Madrid, living up to its status as the world's biggest club, no longer feels the need to justify what it does, certainly not try and curry favour with the press of a foreign country. It also shows how players have changed, at least in their public utterances when it comes to such transfers.

Michel Platini exclusive: We’re not out to kill clubs but to help them grow

This is a big season for Michel Platini. As the architect of UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules, all eyes will be on him when the first penalties are handed out next spring.

Clubs who have lost more than €45m (£38m) over the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons face punishment, ranging from a warning to a ban from European competition.

Chris Froome: I’d love another chance to lead Team Sky

There are two subjects you do not mention to Chris Froome: Bradley Wiggins and drugs. Or so I was warned before meeting the second British winner of the Tour de France.

We are in the back of a Jaguar on the way to Heathrow, where Froome is due to catch a flight to Colorado. I have just asked him about his well-publicised rivalry with Wiggins. But, instead of my being thrown out of the car, Froome calmly says of his relationship with the man he succeeded as Tour winner: “It really is something that’s been built up in the media.”