Football must realise it is not above the law

Sense of illegality sadly misplaced in world of sport

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Wherever you look these days, football seems to be in the dock. We cannot comment on the individual cases until they are decided, but it has raised the question: what has gone wrong?

Many will argue that surely football, and sport in general, should have nothing to do with the general law of the land. Sport, as one of our leading writers put it, is a parallel universe where the intervention of the lawyers is an unwarranted invasion of this wonderland. The sentiments could not be more beautifully put, but it is a bit like saying sports and politics should not mix.

This was heard of a great deal when the issue of apartheid in sport came up. The argument was made by the white South Africans. They had an agenda as they knew politics defined the world they, and we, lived in. To suggest sport and politics should not mix was like saying sport should be divorced from society. Sport grows out of society and is as much part of it, if not more so than any other activity.