Blemishes on the face of The Beautiful Game.
By Steve Sharp
It seems that the expression “political football’ has gathered more meaning as The World Cup starts this week. In fact, it’s not a cup at all, but a trophy, once stolen and found in a hedge by a dog called Pickles.
Leaving aside the question of whether the Desert Kingdom should ever have been awarded the competition in the first place, politics swirl around the issues of worker safety and gay rights, or rather the lack of either.
Not wishing in any way to condone these behaviours, I am reminded of our own track record in 1966 when England had its famous victory.
Legislation to protect workers was weak until the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act, with thousands of injuries, diseases and deaths each year prior.
Coal Workers Pneumoconiosis alone caused around 1600 deaths in 1966 and by the 2004 some 570,000 claims had been made against British Coal.
1966 was also the year of the tragedy at Aberfan in South Wales when a waste tip from a colliery engulfed a junior school and other properties killing 116 children and 28 adults.
Almost all industries had dire statistics listing impact injuries of all kinds, chemical accidents, fires and the effects of dangerous substances such as asbestos.
Meanwhile as England revelled in holding and winning The World Cup, homosexuality was still illegal.
How far we have come since then, not just in worker and gay rights, but in the beautiful game itself, with the women now rivalling the men for skill and entertainment.
It’s hard to ignore the issues in Qatar and just get on with enjoying the spectacle of some great football, but we can hope that our example might lead to greater care, understanding and equality in the future.
Sport in general has ability to bring people together, and although football can bring out tribal instincts amongst its fans, it too can be a force for good.
As Bill Shankly famously said…
“Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it’s much more serious than that.”
Steve
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