Are we shortly to witness anarchy in France, both on and off the football pitch? Such is the potential for mayhem that the World Cup might even interest those football-loathers for whom it is normally as appetising as a personal endorsement from Mr Ian Paisley. On the field, the decision to send off any player who tackles an opponent from behind risks reducing matches to seven-a-side fixtures. Referees should be entrusted with, not denied, the latitude to judge such tackles on their merits. It appears too late to open closed minds but the authorities should at least be prepared to change the rules, even during the finals, if our worst fears are confirmed.
Off the field, an assortment of grievances is limbering up menacingly on the substitutes' bench, ready to cry foul on the biggest sporting event of the year. The trouble with major sporting occasions generally is that they attract
people and organisations with gripes of varying degrees of severity and legitimacy. On the industrial relations front, several trade unions plan strikes ahead of the World Cup, which could disrupt the tournament unless their disputes are settled before it gets under way.
Militant French truck drivers, who have had the support of funfair operators forced out of their traditional city centre sites because of the football, have called off their action, but Air France, rail, energy, construction, and shop workers all plan action to force an early settlement of their claims. Such is the concern about terrorist outrages during the World Cup that operations have begun to round up Muslim extremists. And there will be inevitable instances of hooliganism, isolated we hope. For those who might wonder if it is all worth it, just ask global business and the world's top players. Both stand to profit hugely from the people's game.
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