Football in Mexico has recently enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship with another great national passion. This is now under severe threat. Martin del Palacio Langer explains
When, in March, the International Board – FIFA’s rule making body – banned players from wearing masks during matches, the footballing world barely batted an eyelid. After all, only a couple of players had ever done it in international matches, notably Ecuadorian Iván Kaviedes at the 2006 World Cup.
Tottenham fans seemed to be enjoying their trip to Andalusia when the policing suddenly turned nasty. Steve Davies was there and tries to understand why the situation took a turn for the worse
“Why are the police hitting people who haven’t done anything?” asked my seven-year-old son, who I had taken to Seville to see Spurs.
In the light of recent events, Italy will introduce a stewarding system. Matthew Barker reports on how a new approach to stadium management, imposed from above, will impact on the game
The day after Manchester United’s Champions League quarter-final first leg in Rome, a series of crowd-control measures were announced by the Italian government. Central to these new laws, drawn up in the wake of the riots in Catania and the death of police officer Filippo Raciti, is the introduction of a stewarding system, modelled on the British matchday experience.
Chris Taylor went to listen to a player with radical views on Italian football culture
A lecture called “Money, Politics and Violence: does Italian football have a future?” doesn’t sound a barrel of laughs. As one of the speakers, John Foot, author of Calcio, A History of Italian Football, once wrote: “Calcio is a stinking corpse riddled with maggots.” Foot now admits his outlook, written following the death of a policeman in Catania, was a little pessimistic. Now he compares the game to American televised wrestling – “violent, over-the-top, hysterical and fake” – but he still feels that it has a bright future.
Justin McCurry examines the issues facing clubs looking to conquer the Japanese market
It is a measure of English football’s global reach that the American owner of an English club has plans for commercial expansion in Asia. His description of Liverpool as a “franchise” might have upset traditionalists, but George Gillett’s enthusiasm about the commercial potential of the Far East has a predictable ring to it.