A week into the tournament, football lovers have a fable that will endure
The odour of ugly politics wafted in first – as most things involving America usually do, these days. Disallowing a FIFAempanelled Somali referee, detaining and questioning an Iraqi striker, harsh policing – the list can be much longer.

It’s not just the politics that has been condemned. Even the hydration break, introduced as a safety measure, was actually commercial greed masquerading as health.
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Views expressed above are the author’s own.